Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Lighting

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to reduce the risk currently posed to other drivers of cars using full beam headlights.

Jesse Norman: There are already measures in place to reduce the risk associated with drivers who misuse full beam headlights including regulatory controls in the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 (as amended), guidance in the Highway Code, and material produced by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. Enforcement of on-road vehicle regulations is a matter for the police.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate has he made of the difference between the average maintenance cost per kilometre of track to Network Rail of franchises operating (a) dedicated intercity electric trains and (b) bi-mode trains.

Paul Maynard: The Department assessed the impact of electric and bi-mode trains using track access charges rates determined by the ORR for the current Control Period. The estimate contributed to the assessment that ordering bi-mode trains provides value for money to the taxpayer.

Railways: Exhaust Emissions

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has he made of the potential effect of diesel particulates from bi-mode trains on the health of (a) passengers, (b) railway workers and (c) people who live near to railway lines.

Paul Maynard: The new bi-mode trains will be cleaner than the diesel trains that they replace. In addition, when running on the electrified part of the network the engines can be switched off completely and therefore will not produce any diesel particulates. The table below shows the emissions standards met by Intercity Express Train (Class 800) rolling stock. From 2017, Class 800 trains will progressively replace Class 43 rolling stock on the network (also shown below):  Train classYear manufacturedEngine emissions standardParticulate Matter emissions standardNitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions standardClass 800 – Intercity Express Train2015 onwardsEU NRMM Stage IIIB0.025 g/kWh (grams per kilowatt hour)4.0 g/kWhClass 43 – High Speed Train1975-1982 (re-engined in 2005-2010)UIC II (following engine overhaul in 2000s)0.250 g/kWh9.5 g/kWh  The standards shown above are maximum emission levels, shown in grams per unit of energy (kilowatt hours). Class 800 trains can operate under diesel or overhead electrical power; the above data relates to diesel operation only.

East Coast Rail Franchise

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 11 of Stagecoach Group plc’s analyst and investor presentation of 27 November 2014 on award of the Inter City East Coast franchise, what effect the recent changes to the franchise agreement will have on the sum of £2.3 billion which Stagecoach Transport Holdings Limited and Virgin Holdings Limited intended to pay the Government in real terms premium payments between 2014 and 2023; and what the value was of each such payment received by his Department to date.

Paul Maynard: All premiums due to date under the contract have been paid. Payments by franchised operators are published by ORR annually and can be found on their website. From 2020 there will be a new public private partnership on the East Coast, the East Coast Partnership, one of the first of a new generation of integrated regional rail operations. This will include appropriate contributions from the new private partner under a long-term competitively procured contract.

East Coast Railway Line

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the rate of return to the public purse was on the East Coast Main Line (a) in each year from November 2009 to February 2015 and (b) from March 2015 to date.

Paul Maynard: Since 2015 the East Coast Main Line Company Limited (trading as Virgin Trains East Coast) has on average, contributed 20% more per rail period to the tax payer than when the franchise services were operated by Directly Operated Railways between 2009 and 2015.

Railways: Lancashire

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2017 to Question 116525, what discussions his Department has had with (a) local authorities and (b) other partners on re-opening the Fleetwood to Poulton-le-Fylde rail line as part of the Government's strategic vision for rail.

Paul Maynard: As indicated in the Government’s strategic vision for rail, any scheme seeking Government funding will need to demonstrate a strong business case. The Department for Transport will consider proposals on a case by case basis, based on the economic benefits put forward. We stand ready to consider a Strategic Outline Business Case for the re-opening of the Fleetwood to Poulton-le-Fylde rail line put forward by local authorities and other partners.

Transport: Leigh

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December to Question 116379, for what reasons his Department will not specify whether Leigh was discussed as part of the range of issues discussed between his Department, Transport for Greater Manchester and Transport for the North.

Paul Maynard: As stated previously, the Secretary of State has regular meetings with both Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Transport for the North (TfN) where a range of issues are discussed. We do not comment on the issues that are discussed at individual meetings, regardless of the subject. This is to enable full and frank discussions between the Government and our partners at TfN and TfGM.

Railways: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to extend the Network Railcard area to cover Swindon.

Paul Maynard: The network railcard is a concessionary railcard arising from an agreement between the relevant train operators. National Railcards are governed by the industry’s railcard scheme council and any changes to existing railcards, or new railcards, would therefore be for the industry to propose not Government.

Aviation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which overseas airports are currently subject to a UK flight ban.

Mr John Hayes: The Secretary of State for Transport has directed all operators of UK aircraft, under the Aviation Security Act 1982, not to fly in or into the airspace of Libya and Syria. The Department for Transport also advises UK carriers against using airports within Yemen, Iraq, Somalia and in parts of Ukraine and Egypt.

Shipping: Slavery

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what measures the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has implemented to support victims of slavery found on vessels in British waters.

Mr John Hayes: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA’s) powers allow them to enforce merchant shipping legislation, which includes legislation on living and working conditions for seafarers and fishermen, on UK ships anywhere in the world and non-UK ships in UK waters. Where the MCA identifies conditions on board in respect of which these powers are not sufficient or appropriate, the Agency has processes in place to refer the case to the police or the National Crime Agency who investigate cases of organised Modern Day Slavery and labour abuse. In addition, the MCA would ensure that welfare organisations are made aware so that they can provide the appropriate practical and pastoral support.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Department for Communities and Local Government: Labour Turnover

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many members of staff have left his Department since 1 January 2015; and how many of those members of staff were nationals of non-UK EU countries.

Mr Marcus Jones: The number of direct employees that have left the Department, for any reason, since January 2015 is 930.The Department collects national identity data from its employees on a voluntary basis. Where staff self-describe their national identity as ‘other’ there is no requirement to provide further detail or evidence of their nationality. As such we are unable to determine the number of non-UK EU nationals that have left the Department during the time in question.This is lower than the number that left in the last three years of Labour. Perhaps the Department has just become a more fulfilling place to work now we have a Government which faces up to problems, rather than making them worse.

Housing: Service Charges

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to regulate management companies to ensure that fees charged to residents reflect the true costs of maintenance of their properties and linked open space.

Alok Sharma: The Government’s call for evidence, 'Protecting consumers in the letting and managing agent market', sought views on a number of issues around property agents, their fees and how they can be better challenged by residents. The call for evidence closed on 29 November and the Government will respond in due course.

Housing: Older People

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in the level of new build homes that can be adapted effectively to reflect the changing (a) mobility and (b) access requirements of older people.

Alok Sharma: The Department’s English Housing Survey collects information on the accessibility and adaptability of all homes, including new homes. The most recent report can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2014-to-2015-adaptations-and-accessibility-of-homes-report.

Supported Housing: Older People

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage older people with care needs to move to (a) homes and (b) communities with  supported living services.

Mr Marcus Jones: This Government is committed to supporting older people to live independently for as long as possible, including through providing them with a better choice of accommodation. We committed to ensuring we bring forward more homes that meet the needs of older people, as set out in the Housing White Paper. We will consider the important role of housing in our upcoming Social Care Green Paper. This is due to be published by summer 2018.The Disabled Facilities Grant helps older and disabled people to live independently and safely in their own homes through funding adaptations. Government has invested over £1.6 billion into the Grant, providing around 250,000 adaptations by the end of the 2017-18 financial year.We announced on 31 October that funding for sheltered and extra care housing will remain in the welfare system, with some new but proportionate cost controls. This will enable providers to continue investing to meet the growing demand for this provision from older people. We also support this investment through our Affordable Homes Programme and the Department of Health’s Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) Fund.

Renewable Energy

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will ensure that, with the exception of national infrastructure projects, all proposed renewable energy schemes are determined at a local level.

Alok Sharma: For any onshore renewable energy scheme that is not a nationally significant infrastructure project, or is not an energy project directed into the Planning Act 2008 regime by the Secretary of State, planning permission is sought under relevant town and country legislation.In England this is through the local authority led planning system, except in specific circumstances when the Secretary of State decides whether to grant planning permission for a scheme, for example where an application is called in. Town and country planning in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.

Housing: Construction

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to meet the target that all new homes should be built to meet the lifetime homes standard by 2030.

Alok Sharma: In October 2015, the Government introduced new requirements to the Building Regulations allowing local authorities to apply a new minimum standard to new housing developments if they feel this is necessary, justified by need, and does not compromise the viability of the development.

High Rise Flats: Sheffield

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what criteria his Department has used to assess Sheffield City Council's request for funding for the installation of sprinklers in that city's tower blocks.

Alok Sharma: As we have said, we will consider the removal of financial restrictions for local authorities where these stand in the way of essential fire safety work being done, and we are currently in discussion with Sheffield City Council about this.

Local Government: Conditions of Employment

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of assurance mechanisms operated by local authorities on the employment practices of contracted-out staff.

Mr Marcus Jones: Local government matters are devolved and therefore it is for individual councils to make their own decisions about how their local workforces are organised and monitored. In doing so, we expect councils to take into account their duties and responsibilities as employers under employment law and other relevant legislation; and to undertake due diligence on the employment practices of staff whom they have contracted out.Suppliers must comply with all applicable human rights and employment laws in the jurisdictions in which they work and have robust means of ensuring that the subcontractors in their supply chain also comply. This includes complying with the provisions of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (see Government’s own supplier code of conduct at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323930/CM8888_Web_200614.pdf )Business Energy and Industrial Strategy is the lead department for national employment legislation that local authority employers, along with UK employers, should follow.

Council Housing: Construction

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the timetable is for local authorities to bid to increase their borrowing cap in the financial year 2019-20 to build additional council housing.

Mr Marcus Jones: At the Autumn Budget 2017, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that we will raise the Housing Revenue Account borrowing caps by a total of up to £1 billion. This will apply to areas of high affordability pressure with local authorities that are ready to start building new homes. Local authorities will be able to bid for increases in their caps from 2019/20 up to a total of £1 billion by the end of 2021/22. We will set out more details shortly.

Sleeping Rough

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether there is a cross-departmental plan on housing, health, social security and work policies to ensure a coordinated approach to assist people who are sleeping rough.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government has committed to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminate it altogether by 2027.To achieve this, we have established the Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce which will drive forward the implementation of a cross-Government strategy with an initial focus on rough sleeping.The Taskforce will have a clear agenda to prevent and reduce rough sleeping and homelessness, driving action across both national and local government, other public services and the voluntary and private sectors.

Department for Communities and Local Government: EU Nationals

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many non-UK EU nationals started employment in his Department since 23 June 2016.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department collects national identity data from its employees on a voluntary basis. Where staff self-describe their national identity as 'other' there is no requirement to provide further detail or evidence of their nationality. As such we are unable to accurately determine the number of non-UK EU nationals that have started in the Department in the time since 23 June 2016.

Department for Communities and Local Government: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many data incidents his Department (a) recorded and (b) reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

Mr Marcus Jones: Personal date incidents are recorded in our annual reports, and these can be found on the gov.uk website.

Department for Communities and Local Government: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many times his Department's Senior Information Risk Officer roles been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.

Mr Marcus Jones: The role has not been vacant at any period of time since 2012.

High Rise Flats: Fire Extinguishers

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether there is any funding pending to the London Borough of Southwark for the retrofitting of sprinklers in tower blocks.

Alok Sharma: As we have said, we will consider the removal of financial restrictions for local authorities where these stand in the way of essential fire safety work being done, and we would welcome a discussion with London Borough of Southwark if they feel financial flexibilities are needed to carry out essential fire safety work in order to make their buildings safe.It is down to the local authority to determine what measures are essential. Building owners are responsible for funding fire safety measures in their buildings. If a local authority building owner considers a building to be unsafe, they will need to determine what measures are essential to make a building safe, based on expert advice and taking into account any recommendations or advice from the local fire and rescue service.

Housing: Construction

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new buildings are constructed to such a standard that they will not require energy-efficiency upgrades before 2050.

Alok Sharma: The Government’s Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017, sets out our ambitions for improving the energy performance of all buildings including new and existing properties. As part of this, and following the outcome of Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety, we will consult on improving energy requirements for new buildings where the evidence suggests that there are cost effective and affordable opportunities, and it is safe and practical to do.

Mersey Tunnels: Tolls

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the letter to the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth from the Metro Mayor Liverpool on the Mersey Gateway Tolls, dated 4 December 2017.

Jake Berry: Tolling of the Mersey Gateway Bridge is the responsibility of Halton Borough Council.

Department for Communities and Local Government: Business Plans

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 6.1 of his Department's single departmental plan, published on the 14 December 2017, what analysis his Department has conducted on its effect on housing and local government sectors.

Alok Sharma: My Department continues to work at pace on its plans to ensure a smooth and orderly exit from the European Union. This work is ongoing and will involve continued engagement across both sectors.

Planning Permission: Christchurch

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July to Question 1449 on planning permission: Christchurch, when he expects the enforcement appeals to be determined.

Alok Sharma: The start date for the enforcement notice appeals has been delayed due to a number of matters that required clarification. Due to the forthcoming Christmas period, the appeals will not now be started until January and shall proceed to a local inquiry with an expected start to decision time of 36 weeks.

Right to Buy Scheme: Housing Associations

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July to Question 3273 when he expects to announce the extension of right to buy discounts to housing association tenants across England.

Alok Sharma: The Government is committed to ensuring that housing association tenants achieve the aspiration of home ownership, and to the voluntary agreement reached with housing associations. In the Autumn Budget 2017 the Government announced a £200 million voluntary Right to Buy regional pilot in the Midlands. This will give thousands more housing association tenants the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of home ownership.

Local Government: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to refer the local government reorganisation proposal for Dorset to the Local Government Boundary Commission.

Jake Berry: Whilst the process that we are following for considering the Dorset reorganisation proposal does not involve a referral to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, the Commission have indicated that, subject to progress being made, they intend to undertake electoral reviews for the proposed unitary councils.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Biofuels

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the 36 per cent increase in the use of bioenergy referred to in the Clean Growth Strategy which the Government plans to come from woody biomass.

Claire Perry: The modelling used to derive the changes in annual final energy consumption in 2032, relative to the existing policies scenario did not differentiate between different types of biomass fuels. The figure in Table 11 of the Clean Growth Strategy can be taken to represent a mixture of biogenic fuels, including woody biomass, waste and other sources however we have not made an estimate of which proportion will come specifically from woody biomass.

Carbon Emissions

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to ensure that the emissions reduction targets set out in the Committee on Climate Change's carbon budgets are met.

Claire Perry: The UK met the first carbon budget (2008-2012) and is on track to meet the second (2013-2017) and third carbon budgets (2018-2022).The Fifth Carbon Budget (covering 2028-32) was passed into law on 21 July 2016. This budget is set in line with the recommendation of our independent advisers, the Committee on Climate Change, at 1,725 MtCO2e, equivalent to a 57% reduction on 1990 levels.The Clean Growth Strategy sets out ambitious policies and proposals to decarbonise the UK economy through the 2020s, and includes a 2032 pathway, which shows one of many plausible ways we can meet our fifth carbon budget.

Energy: Housing

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to produce and implement a revenue neutral plan to bring the domestic sector housing stock up to Energy Performance Certificate Band C by 2035.

Claire Perry: The Clean Growth Strategy (the Strategy), published in October this year, sets out Government’s aspiration that as many homes as possible will be upgraded to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. The Strategy set out a number of policies and proposals that will help us make progress against this aspiration, including:Developing a long term trajectory to improve the energy performance standards of privately rented homes, with the aim of upgrading as many as possible to EPC Band C by 2030 where practical, cost-effective and affordable. We will consider options by consulting on this in 2018 and looking at how social housing can meet equivalent standards over the same period. Investing around £3.6 billion to upgrade around a million homes through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). In addition, we will extend support for home energy efficiency beyond the current commitment to fund ECO to 2022 and out to 2028 with funding, at least at current ECO levels. Consulting on strengthening energy performance standards for new and existing homes under Building Regulations, including futureproofing new homes for low carbon heating systems, following the outcome of the independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety, and subject to its conclusions. Seeking evidence on building a market for energy efficiency, including additional measures to improve energy performance of owner occupied homes through a Call for Evidence published alongside the Clean Growth Strategy. This Call for Evidence is currently open and closes on 9 January 2018. Following an evaluation of the responses, we will publish an action plan on additional market based measures later in 2018. In the Call for Evidence on building a market for energy efficiency, we made clear that the government would adopt policies that help to meet our commitments at the lowest possible net cost to UK taxpayers, consumer and businesses; and which maximise the social and economic benefits for the UK from this transition.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people in Garston and Halewood constituency are employed in the automotive industry?

Claire Perry: The Garston and Halewood constituency has an important role in automotive manufacturing. Data from the ONS Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) show that around 6,000 were employed in the automotive manufacturing sector in Garston and Halewood in 2016.

Money Laundering

Anneliese Dodds: To ask The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many reports of concern about money laundering have been made through the Companies House report it facility; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: Eight reports about money laundering have been made through the Companies House report it facility. The new report it facility was introduced earlier this year to help improve the integrity of the information on the register of companies. Although it is still in its early stages following implementation, the facility is working well.

Postal Services: Unfair Practices

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral contribution of the  Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility of 12 December 2017, Official Report, Column 156-7, what plans he has to tackle unfair competition in the postal services market.

Margot James: Ofcom and the Competition & Markets Authority have the powers to tackle unfair competition in regulated sectors. On employment standards, Matthew Taylor’s Good Work report raised a number of comprehensive and detailed issues. We are giving these the careful consideration they deserve and will respond shortly.

Energy Companies Obligation

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will change the Energy Company Obligation to give higher priority to helping rural communities that are off the mains gas grid.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has further to strengthen rural safeguards in the Carbon Savings Community obligation.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to reduce the potential cost of energy efficiency schemes to off-gas-grid households in rural areas.

Claire Perry: Since 1 April 2017, the Carbon Savings Community Obligation is no longer part of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). However, we introduced a rural safeguard of 15% in the Carbon Emissions Reduction Obligation (CERO) of the current ECO scheme. In addition, the scoring mechanism under ECO is such that it incentivises delivery of measures in properties off the gas grid. Early next year we intend to consult on proposals for the future Energy Company Obligation which are expected to run from October 2018 to March 2022. The consultation will include proposals on rural delivery and on moving to a 100% focus on vulnerable and low income households.

Heating: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the Government plans to communicate with the public the potential changes required to reduce emissions associated with heating buildings in line with the UK’s emissions reduction targets.

Claire Perry: The Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017, has a very clear focus on the challenges and opportunities involved in decarbonising heat in buildings. This included announcing:Improving standards of the 1.2 million new boilers installed every year in England and requiring control devices to help people save energy;Phasing out the installation of high carbon fossil fuel heating in new and existing buildings during the 2020s, starting with new build properties; andGovernment’s intention to consult on:Improving the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings (subject to the conclusions of the independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety);Raising minimum standards of energy efficiency for rented commercial buildings;Exploration of voluntary building standards and how these might support improvements in the energy efficiency performance of business buildings.The Department will set out more detail during 2018, engaging with industry representatives, consumer groups and other stakeholders to ensure a broad cross section of viewpoints are taken into account when formulating policies in these areas.

Energy: Housing

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to increase the roll-out of energy efficiency measures for non-fuel poor households.

Claire Perry: The Clean Growth Strategy, published in October this year, set out the Government’s aspiration that as many homes as possible will be upgraded to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C by 2035, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. The Strategy outlined a number of policies and proposals that will help us make progress against this aspiration and will increase the roll-out of energy efficiency measures for non-fuel poor households, includingDeveloping a long term trajectory to improve the energy performance standards of privately rented homes, with the aim of upgrading as many as possible to EPC Band C by 2030 where practical, cost-effective and affordable. We will consider options with a view to consulting on this in 2018 and looking at how social housing can meet equivalent standards over the same period.Consulting on strengthening energy performance standards for new and existing homes under Building Regulations, including futureproofing new homes for low carbon heating systems, following the outcome of the independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety, and subject to its conclusions.Seeking evidence on building a market for energy efficiency, including additional measures to improve energy performance of owner occupied homes through a Call for Evidence published alongside the Clean Growth Strategy. This Call for Evidence is currently open and closes on 9 January 2018. Following an evaluation of the responses, we will publish an action plan on additional market based measures.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the additional cost of meeting emissions reduction targets without the widespread roll-out of energy efficiency measures for buildings.

Claire Perry: The Clean Growth Strategy, published earlier this year, set out that we will likely need to decarbonise nearly all heat in buildings and most industrial processes in order to meet the 2050 emissions reduction goal set by the Climate Change Act 2008. The Clean Growth Strategy made clear that there are a number of different scenarios for meeting our 2050 goal and at present, it is not clear which approach will work best at scale and offer the most cost-effective, long term answer. Under all scenarios we will need to improve the energy efficiency of homes and non-domestic buildings, therefore the Clean Growth Strategy outlined a number of policies for achieving this, including:1. Investing around £3.6 billion to upgrade around a million homes through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). In addition, we will extend support for home energy efficiency beyond the current commitment to fund ECO to 2022 and out to 2028 with funding at least at current ECO levels2. Developing a long term trajectory to improve the energy performance standards of privately rented homes, with the aim of upgrading as many as possible to EPC Band C by 2030 where practical, cost-effective and affordable, and consulting on equivalent standards for social housing over this period.3. Following the outcome of the independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety, and subject to its conclusions, consulting on strengthening energy performance standards for new and existing homes under Building Regulations, including futureproofing new homes for low carbon heating systems,4. Seeking evidence on building a market for energy efficiency, including additional measures to improve energy performance of owner occupied homes through a Call for Evidence published alongside the Clean Growth Strategy.5. Developing a package of measures to support businesses to improve how productively they use energy, with the aim of improving energy efficiency by at least 20 per cent by 2030, including by consulting on raising minimum standards of energy efficiency for rented commercial buildings.

Energy: Buildings

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to learn lessons from the devolved Administrations on improving the energy-efficiency of buildings.

Claire Perry: In developing our approach to improving the energy efficiency of buildings, the UK Government takes into account evidence and examples of good practice both from the Devolved Administrations and internationally. We will continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations as we implement the commitments for improving the energy efficiency of buildings set out in the Clean Growth Strategy.

Consumer Goods: Safety

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had  with manufacturers of consumer products and electrical appliances about product safety and risk assessments.

Margot James: On 28 November I met with the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA) and others at the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety, to discuss issues of electrical safety including the launch of the new code of practice on recalls.Senior officials, including the Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser, have engaged regularly with AMDEA and a wide variety of manufacturers to ensure they are taking all necessary steps to ensure consumer safety.

Life Sciences: Grants

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what conditions he plans to impose on the recipients of grants from the recently announced £17 million fund for life sciences to ensure that patients achieve affordable access to the health technologies developed.

Joseph Johnson: The £17m allocated to life sciences projects in my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s recent speech at the Francis Crick Institute is part of a wider programme of life sciences research driven forward by government and industry partners to ensure that the UK health system, both public and private, has access to cutting-edge health technologies. Standard grant conditions apply and this is part of the UKRI remit.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Nigeria: Abduction

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Nigerian Government on the kidnapping of missionaries in southern Nigeria; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: ​I would like to express my condolences to the family and friends of Ian Squire who died in Nigeria following his kidnapping on 13 October. He devoted his life to helping others and it is clear he touched many lives during the course of his work. I welcome the release of David and Shirley Donovan and Alana Carson, kidnapped alongside Ian. We will continue to do all we can to support the families. I am grateful to the Nigerian authorities for their assistance.The safety of British Nationals living and working abroad is a priority for this Government. We liaised closely with Nigerian authorities throughout the recent kidnap and regularly discuss security issues in Nigeria with members of the Nigerian Government at the highest levels. There is a high threat of kidnap throughout Nigeria, either for financial or political gain, or motivated by criminality. This is set out in our travel advice for Nigeria, which is kept under constant review.

Israeli Settlements

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will lobby the Government of Israel to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2334, 446 and the fourth Geneva Convention.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK has repeatedly called on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law. We have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including settlements and the treatment of Palestinian children in military custody.

Sudan: Slavery

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the incidence of modern slavery in (a) Sudan and (b) South Sudan.

Rory Stewart: Estimates of the number of people currently living in modern slavery in Sudan and South Sudan continue to be high. In 2016, the Global Slavery Index ranked Sudan and South Sudan joint 6th out of 167 countries for the highest proportion of the population living in modern slavery.The British Government is committed to the eradication of all forms of modern slavery and human trafficking by 2030, as unanimously adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015. The Prime Minister has made eradicating this scourge one of her top foreign policy priorities. She has pushed the UN and the broader international community to step up efforts in this respect, most recently by convening Leaders to launch a Call to Action to End Modern Slavery, which has so far been endorsed by 40 countries, including a number of African nations. The Prime Minister has committed to doubling UK aid spend to tackle modern slavery to £150 million.

Burma: Ethnic Groups

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Burma about the treatment of the Karen people by the Burmese state.

Mark Field: ​Our Ambassador and officials raise concerns with the relevant Burmese authorities when appropriate. Our Embassy in Rangoon stays in contact with Karen representatives and carefully monitors the situation, including through visits by Embassy officials to Karen areas. We are also supporting the 21st Century Panglong peace process to help bring lasting peace to the minority ethnic areas, including the Karen. ​

Government Hospitality: Wines

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the cost of purchases for the Government Hospitality Wine Cellar.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government Hospitality wine cellar is currently self-financing. New purchases are funded from sales of older stock. We do not anticipate that the costs of the small-scale purchases made for the cellar will be significantly affected by the departure of the UK from the EU. In 2016-17, 49% of purchases by volume were of English wines.

Sheikh Isa Qassim

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Government of Bahrain on the house arrest of Sheikh Isa Qassim since recent reports of his health deteriorating.

Alistair Burt: My officials have raised this issue with the Government of Bahrain, and have received assurances that Sheikh Isa Qassim is not under house arrest and is receiving medical treatment at a hospital of his choosing.

Nature Conservation

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff of his Department have dedicated posts dealing with policy on endangered species of animals.

Mark Field: Tackling the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) is a major priority for the Foreign Secretary and me, particularly ahead of the IWT Conference in London in October 2018. Staff ​across our diplomatic missions overseas and in London are working hard on this issue, both bilaterally and through multilateral fora. In addition we have a core IWT policy team in London, of four full-time staff and two part-time staff, which we will keep under review as the Conference approaches.

Burma: Rohingya

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) Bangladeshi and (b) Burmese counterpart on the terms of the repatriation of Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh.

Mark Field: The Memorandum of understanding signed on 23 November between the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh includes a clear commitment from the Government of Burma to allow refugees who fled to Bangladesh since October 2016 to return to their original places of residence in Burma or a safe and secure place of their choice. The UK will work with international partners to ensure any returns take place in line with international norms and under international monitoring.​I made clear in my 20 November meeting with the Chief of Staff to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi that the UK expects the Burmese authorities to ensure the safety and security of all Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh on their return to Burma. I also discussed the agreement with Bangladesh Minister of State Shahriar Alam on 30 November, setting out that any returns should be voluntary, safe, and in dignity.

Burma: Rohingya

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to highlight the need to put the Rohingya crisis on the agenda at forthcoming ASEAN summits.

Mark Field: The UK has been clear on the need for ASEAN countries to contribute to resolving the Rohingya crisis. Ministers and officials have raised the issue with all ASEAN members. The Malaysian and Indonesian Foreign Ministers took part in the Rakhine event which the Foreign Secretary hosted in New York during UN General Assembly Week. I raised Rakhine most recently during my interventions during the Asia-Europe Meeting in Naypyidaw on 20-21 November, which was attended by ministers from all ASEAN countries, and in bilaterals with ministers from Thailand and Brunei.In advance of the most recent ASEAN Summit, held in the Philippines in November 2017, British embassies and High Commissions in ASEAN countries raised the importance of this issue with their hosts, urging that it be addressed at the Summit. Our understanding is that the Rohingya crisis was not formally on the agenda (which has to be agreed by all members, including Burma) but that it was discussed at length informally and in the margins of the Summit.

Burma: Ethnic Groups

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for the treatment of the Rohingya people by the Burmese military being repeated in relation to other minority ethnic groups in Burma; and whether his Department has developed contingency plans to meet that case.

Mark Field: The Burmese state recognises 135 ethnic groups as indigenous. This does not include the Rohingya who have historically been treated differently. The UK Government recognises that this lack of official recognition is a factor in the persecution they face. Our Embassy in Rangoon stays in contact with representatives from other ethnic groups and our Ambassador and officials regularly raise our concerns about the discrimination that affects them with the relevant Burmese authorities. The UK carefully monitors the situation in Burma's minority ethnic areas and provides political and programme support to the peace process, which seeks to resolve the conflicts that have affected Burma for decades.

Nabeel Rajab

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Bahraini counterpart on the Bahraini court’s rejection of Nabeel Rajab’s appeal against a two-year prison sentence for speaking to journalists; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: ​We have raised this case with the Bahraini Government at senior levels. The UK continues to encourage the Bahraini Government to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.

British Overseas Territories: Marine Protected Areas

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of enforcement against illegal fishing in Marine Protected Areas around the UK Overseas Territories; and what action is taken when UK Overseas Territories report illegal fishing in Marine Protected Areas.

Sir Alan Duncan: Holding answer received on 18 December 2017



Through the Overseas Territories Blue Belt programme, an assessment of potential illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing has been undertaken across the declared Marine Protected Areas. These assessments have involved a review of historical fishing activities, together with targeted real-time satellite surveillance. The support the UK is providing through the Blue Belt programme includes advice to the Overseas Territories to strengthen their legislation, where necessary, to ensure appropriate penalties are in place for any illegal fishing activities. The UK has contacted a number of Flag States and highlighted potential incursions to relevant regional Fisheries Management Organisations to ensure greater awareness of the Marine Protected Areas.

South Sudan: Dual Nationality

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any members of the Government of South Sudan hold dual British-South Sudanese citizenship.

Rory Stewart: It is British Government policy not to provide the names or details of such individuals as to do so would be a breach of the Data Protection Act.

South Sudan: Sanctions

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 August 2017 to Question HL1189, what progress has been made on extending EU sanctions on South Sudanese leaders.

Rory Stewart: The British Government strongly supports the sanctioning of individuals where we judge that this can help to change behaviour. We remain committed to securing EU sanctions on those South Sudanese leaders who actively block or refuse to engage constructively in the peace process. The EU set out its readiness to implement sanctions in support of the High Level Revitalisation Forum in South Sudan in a statement released on 6 November. The British Government strongly supports the High Level Revitalisation Forum and has offered its full commitment to help it succeed. However, if it is judged that key players are refusing to engage properly in the process we, and our EU partners, stand ready to implement tougher measures.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department has provided to help include civil society and the wider civilian population of South Sudan in the High Level Revitalisation Forum.

Rory Stewart: The British Government has repeatedly called for the inclusion of a broad range of actors in the High Level Revitalisation Forum, including specifically urging the incorporation of civil society’s views. We have been clear that hearing a wide range of voices that represent the whole of South Sudanese society is essential for the forum’s success. We have made this point at high levels directly to IGAD and to the parties to the conflict. We have also sought to amplify civil society’s contributions to the process through our diplomatic engagement and communications work. During their recent regional tour, Troika Envoys met with a wide range of civil society players. More widely, the UK is working to empower non-armed actors in South Sudan to participate effectively in the peace process. This includes work with local peacebuilding organisations and a package of funding to help the South Sudan Council of Churches’ work in support of the peace process.

Antarctic: Conservation

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a statement on the outcome of the 36th Annual Meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The UK achieved important objectives at the last Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) meeting, which was held in October 2017. These included: agreement to sustainable fishing quotas in South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands in line with UK scientific advice; protection of the marine area exposed by the recent calving of the Larsen C iceshelf from any commercial fishing until 2028; and agreement to more effective paperwork to underpin the CCAMLR System of Inspection. The CCAMLR Commission also elected a British candidate to be the next Executive Secretary, commencing in April 2018. Following the successful agreement at the 2016 CCAMLR meeting to establish the world's largest Marine Protected Area in the Ross Sea, discussions continued on the UK co-sponsored proposal for a marine protected area (MPA) in East Antarctica, and further scientific discussions took place about the design of future MPA proposals in the Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula region.

Spain: Foreign Relations

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met his Spanish counterpart; and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Sir Alan Duncan: I met my Spanish counterpart, Spain’s Secretary of State for European Affairs Jorge Toledo, on 4 November. We discussed developments in Catalonia and I underlined my support for upholding the rule of law and respecting the Spanish constitution. We also discussed Venezuela, and the UK’s departure from the EU.

Singapore: Foreign Relations

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met his counterpart in Singapore; and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Mark Field: ​My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs last met Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in February. I last met my former counterpart, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Josephine Teo, in late August. On both occassions a range of foreign policy issues were discussed.

Sudan: Human Rights

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he raised human rights issues with the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, at his recent meeting.

Rory Stewart: Sudan remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Priority Country and improving human rights is a key objective in our engagement with the Government of Sudan. During his meeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister Ghandour on 12 December, the Foreign Secretary raised our concerns on human rights, as well as highlighting the political and economic reforms the Government of Sudan needs to undertake. In a separate meeting, I also highlighted the need for Sudan to make improvements on human rights and expressed the UK's desire to maintain dialogue on human rights issues with the Government of Sudan.​

Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress has been made in finding the British-trained Barrister Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, following his disappearance in Bangladesh In 2016.

Mark Field: I am aware of the case of Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem. It is alleged that Mr Quasem was abducted from his home in Bangladesh in August 2016, and that he remains missing. As Mr Quasem is not a British National we have not raised his specific case with the Bangladesh authorities. Ministers regularly raise our concerns about enforced disappearances and attacks on political freedoms with the Government of Bangladesh.I did so just recently with the High Commissioner for Bangladesh and Foreign Secretary Haque on 2 November

Sudan: Overseas Trade

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies on Sudan of the as a result of the meeting of the UK-Sudan Trade and Investment Forum, held in London on 12 December 2017.

Rory Stewart: The policies of the British Government on Sudan have not changed as a result of the UK-Sudan Trade and Investment Forum. As part of our phased increase in direct engagement with the Government of Sudan, we continue to consider opportunities to promote trade with Sudan. Trade can help open up closed off political and economic systems, and thereby help to improve the human rights situation. Sudan remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Priority Country and improving human rights is a key objective in our engagement with Sudan. The UK-Sudan Trade and Investment Forum was a private event, organised and funded by Developing Markets Associates, in cooperation with the Sudanese Embassy in London.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Boating: Qualifications

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government plans to ensure that UK citizens holding Royal Yachting Association qualifications can continue to work on a seasonal basis in EU member states after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: Royal Yachting Association certificates and qualifications apply to people working and sailing on British flagged boats. Holders of these certificates should check the certification requirements of the local Port State Control Administration prior to entering their jurisdiction.The Government has been clear that while freedom of movement will end, there will continue to be migration and mobility between the UK and the EU. We are carefully considering our options and the potential impacts they may have on different categories of people. We will discuss these arrangements with the EU in due course - at every step of the negotiations, we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Brexit

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department has established a market access commission on the implications of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: We are undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work looking at the implications of UK withdrawal from the EU.The Government is examining all areas of the UK economy and seeking input from a wide range of businesses and industry bodies in order to inform our negotiations with the EU.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Brexit

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department (a) has carried out or (b) is carrying out a market access assessment on the implications of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: We are undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work looking at the implications of UK withdrawal from the EU.The Government is examining all areas of the UK economy and seeking input from a wide range of businesses and industry bodies in order to inform our negotiations with the EU.

Attorney General

Hate Crime: Disability and Homosexuality

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Attorney General, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service has adequate resources to tackle crimes against gay and disabled people.

Jeremy Wright: Tackling hate crime is a priority for the CPS and for wider government and the CPS is committed to allocating sufficient resource to tackle hate crime across all monitored strands. The CPS has resourced a network of Hate Crime Coordinators in each of its Areas, acting as a central point of contact for specialist advice and providing oversight of hate crime cases.In 2016-17, disability hate crime performance included the highest ever volume of completed prosecutions at 1,009, with a conviction rate of 79.3%. There were also 1,375 completed prosecutions for homophobic hate crime, with a conviction rate of 83.2%.

Hate Crime: Convictions

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Attorney General, how many incidents of hate crime resulted in convictions in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

Jeremy Wright: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of defendants flagged as committing hate crime offences that were prosecuted and convicted through its Case Management System. The table below shows the volume and proportion of hate crime prosecutions and convictions during each of the last three years. -2014 - 152015 - 162016 - 17-Volume%Volume%Volume%Convictions12,22082.9%12,84683.2%12,07283.4%Unsuccessful2,51817.1%2,59616.8%2,40816.6%Total14,738 15,442 14,480 Data Source: Case Management Information System The CPS does not hold a record of the number of reported incidents of hate crimes. Such information is recorded by the 43 police forces. The data reported in the table above shows prosecutions completed by the CPS after receipt of the case papers from the police.

Department for International Development

Voluntary Service Overseas

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department provides to the charity Voluntary Service Overseas.

Alistair Burt: For the current financial year (2017/18), Voluntary Service Overseas is set to receive a total income of £47,846,000 from DFID for implementing programme work. The two largest programmes that VSO deliver are International Citizen Service (ICS) (£26,570,000) and Volunteering for Development (V4D) (£17,000,000). ICS enables around 6,000 young people per year to contribute to poverty reduction through 12 week projects overseas, which builds their awareness of poverty issues and their personal skills, enabling them to contribute as active citizens when they return to the UK. V4D mobilises around 1,300 mid to late career professionals per year from the health, education and business sectors to volunteer overseas on long term placements. This work improves poor people’s access to basic services and builds new partnerships for a Global Britain.

South Asia: Equality

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has programmes to promote gender equality in (a) Pakistan and (b) Bangladesh.

Alistair Burt: Through our programmes in Pakistan we are supporting women and girls to live healthy and secure lives. This includes supporting girls through education, improving maternal health and providing economic opportunities though access to micro-finance and skills training. We are also supporting the rollout and implementation of new legislation to protect women and strengthen their rights, and increasing women’s involvement in decision making at all levels. Activities to tackle inequality and promote empowerment are embedded across all our bilateral programmes in Bangladesh. As well as providing direct support in areas like education, health, livelihoods and nutrition, we support programmes designed to tackle social norms that result in gender-based violence and early marriage, including working with men and boys, and programmes that ensure access to security and justice.

Burma: Overseas Aid

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what safeguards her Department has put in place to ensure UK aid projects in Burma are not purchasing goods and services from military-owned or controlled companies.

Alistair Burt: Before DFID Burma’s programmes work with private sector companies we conduct vetting and due diligence to identify and screen out any companies or individuals who may have military links. It is however difficult in Burma to assert that none of our project partners are not purchasing any goods or services from military-owned or controlled companies. Over 50 years of dictatorship the military has built up a range of commercial interests. The services and goods they provide range from drinking water to port handling services and mobile phone towers.

Burma: Internally Displaced People

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to 9,000 displaced ethnic Shan and Karen people from Burma who are no longer receiving support via the Border Consortium.

Alistair Burt: At present DFID is not providing support directly to this specific population. Humanitarian Advisors are monitoring the situation, speaking to the Border Consortium and aiming to visit the area in early 2018 to make an assessment. DFID’s current humanitarian assistance in Burma is channelled through the Burma Humanitarian Assistance And Resilience Programme, which provides support to Burmese refugees in Thailand and over 100,000 conflict-affected and internally displaced people across Burma.

Burma: Rohingya

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether it is the policy of her Department to always use the word Rohingya when discussing the Rohingya with Burmese Government officials and Ministers.

Alistair Burt: The UK does not have a specific policy about using the word Rohingya in discussions with the Burmese authorities. The UK recognises the rights of all communities to self-identify, including the Rohingya. We continue to urge the Burmese authorities to ensure basic rights for all people of Burma.

Global Justice Now

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government has provided financial assistance to the non-governmental organisation Global Justice Now in the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: No financial assistance has been provided to the organisation Global Justice Now in the last 12 months.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the sanitation levels in camps for displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh and the effect of those levels on living conditions.

Alistair Burt: DFID is one of the largest bilateral donors to the Rohingya crisis and we are already providing over £6m for water and sanitation support through our partners in Cox’s Bazar. This includes providing and maintaining toilets, and providing single cubicle shower facilities separated for men and women. Major challenges remain, however. Water sources are being contaminated, given the very crowded camps and because international standards on borehole drilling and placement of toilets in proximity to water sources are not always being followed. DFID is taking the lead on urgently tackling these public health concerns, pushing our partners to scale up their response and exploring how else we can help.

South Sudan: Overseas Aid

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to ensure the conflict sensitivity of UK aid delivery in South Sudan.

Rory Stewart: DFID is committed to integrating conflict sensitivity across policies and programmes. An external Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility for South Sudan has been established that provides the Department, implementing partners and other donors with guidance, training and analysis on conflict sensitivity. DFID South Sudan has also issued a set of minimum standards for all staff and implementing partners on conflict sensitivity that requires robust conflict analysis and a detailed approach to conflict sensitivity including through programme design, recruitment and monitoring and evaluation practices.

Department for International Development: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many data incidents her Department (a) recorded and (b) reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

Rory Stewart: The number of data incidents recorded and reported by DFID to the Information Commissioners’ Office in 2015-16 and 2016-17 is published in DFID’s Annual Report for each of these years. These can be found on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfid-annual-report-2011-2012.

Department for International Development: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many times her Department's Senior Information Risk Officer role has been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.

Rory Stewart: The DFID Senior Information Risk Officer role is carried out by the Director General for Finance and Corporate Performance. This role has been filled without any gaps since 2012.

Developing Countries: Pneumonia

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has allocated to the prevention of childhood pneumonia in developing countries in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: The UK, as the largest donor to Gavi, the Global Vaccine Alliance, will contribute US$168.7 million to Gavi’s pneumococcal Advanced Market Commitment for the 2016-2020 period. Immunising children against major killers (such as measles, pneumonia and diarrhoea) is a public health and development best buy. 109 million children were vaccinated between 2010 and 2016, thanks to Gavi’s support where again the UK was the largest donor, saving an estimated 762,000 livesGavi’s Pneumococcol Advanced Market commitment reduces costs, which has enabled 58 countries to introduce vaccinations. The UK also supports countries to build stronger health systems that can respond to existing disease burdens and emerging health issues, including pneumonia.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is providing humanitarian assistance to Eastern Ghouta in Syria.

Alistair Burt: DFID’s humanitarian partners are on the ground in Eastern Ghouta (as well as other hard-to-reach and besieged areas) providing life-saving food, protection, and healthcare including routine immunisation services against infectious diseases such as polio and measles. However, humanitarian access remains severely constrained.The UK continues to demand full and sustained humanitarian access to Eastern Ghouta at the UN and at every opportunity, and we have called on all parties to take all feasible measures to protect civilians, and allow emergency medical evacuations.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many aid air-drops the UK has made in besieged areas in Syria since the start of the conflict.

Alistair Burt: Aid delivered by road by trusted humanitarian partners (including the UN) is by far the most effective way to meet needs in Syria and to ensure that it reaches those most in need. Airdrops are high risk and not capable of delivering many of the types of aid on a scale that could meet key needs (e.g. safe drinking water, shelter, health support). Crucially, the consent is needed of those who control the airspace and those on the ground that could threaten aircraft. There is nothing to suggest that the Assad regime would provide such consent if it remained intent on blocking land access.The UK continues to demand full and sustained humanitarian access to besieged locations across Syria at the UN and at every opportunity, and we have called on all parties to take all feasible measures to protect civilians, as required under international humanitarian law.

Syria: International Assistance

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with UN bodies on aid air-drops to besieged areas of Syria.

Alistair Burt: Aid delivered by road by trusted humanitarian partners (including the UN) is by far the most effective way to meet needs in Syria and to ensure that it reaches those most in need. Airdrops are high risk and not capable of delivering many of the types of aid on a scale that could meet key needs (e.g. safe drinking water, shelter, health support). Crucially, the consent is needed of those who control the airspace and those on the ground that could threaten aircraft. There is nothing to suggest that the Assad regime would provide such consent if it remained intent on blocking land access. The UK continues to demand full and sustained humanitarian access to besieged locations across Syria at the UN and at every opportunity, and we have called on all parties to take all feasible measures to protect civilians, as required under international humanitarian law.

Kenya: Marie Stopes International

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any of her Department's funding given to Marie Stopes International goes towards the provision of or advertising for abortion in Kenya.

Rory Stewart: None

Department for Education

Mental Health: Schools

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's proposals for Designated Senior Lead for Mental Health in schools on page 4 of its Green Paper on children and young people's mental health, published on 4 December 2017, what plans his Department has to ensure that schools will retain the benefit of the training given to those so designated people in the longer-term.

Nick Gibb: The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Green Paper sets out an ambitious set of proposals to fill the gap in support for children and young people’s mental health together with over £300 million of funding. This will incentivise and support all schools and colleges to identify and train a Designated Senior Lead for Mental Health, introduce new Mental Health Support Teams and reduce waiting times for NHS services. Nearly half of all schools already have a mental health lead. The training will help existing and new leads to establish whole school approaches and to engage with the new teams.

Apprentices

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the Government's progress on meeting its target of 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2020.

Anne Milton: We publish progress on the number of apprenticeships starts within the department for Further Education and skills statistical first release, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education-and-skills-statistical-first-release-sfr#2017-releases. There have been over 1.1 million apprenticeship starts since May 2015 and we remain determined to reach 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020.

Department for Education: Crimes against Property

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education,  what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of theft and fraud to (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last ten years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In 2011 the government established the Fraud, Error and Debt Taskforce to develop and coordinate the delivery of initiatives across government as previously no systematic attempt had been made. Since 2012/13 the department has therefore published a total for overall detected fraud in the department consolidated accounts. Available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-annual-reports. Since 2017 Cabinet Office have also published annual detected fraud figures for all central departments and related bodies. Also available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2017. Fraud and error figures for Executive Agencies (EA’s) and Non-Department Public Bodies in years prior to 2013-14 were not collected centrally and therefore unavailable. From 2013-14 onwards, the department reported fraud figures to the Cabinet Office in line with their definition of fraud costs and covered all EA’s and Arm’s Length Bodies. Following machinery of government changes from June 2016 onwards, the department also supplies figures for higher education and further education including the Student Loan Company. 12-1313-1414-1515-1616-17Department (inc. EFA) £0.0M£0.04To be confirmed (with Cabinet Office)£1.45M£2.28The figures shown are taken from published material in the accounts or the Cross Government Fraud Landscape Annual report.

Pupil Exclusions

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the exclusion review will make a comparative assessment of exclusion rates of academies and maintained schools.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The externally led review of exclusions practice and implications for pupil groups disproportionately represented in the national statistics, will consider how schools use exclusion and how this impacts on all pupils, but particularly why some groups of children are more likely to be excluded from school. The department will publish full details of the review, including how views can be submitted, in due course. Statistics on permanent and fixed-period exclusions published in July 2017 “Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England 2015 to 2016” are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2015-to-2016.The national data tables within this release include exclusion rates for all academies and maintained schools.

Collective Spirit Free School Oldham

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has for the former Collective Spirit Free school site in Chadderton, Oldham.

Nick Gibb: We have not yet made a decision on the future of the Collective Spirit Free School site in Oldham. We are currently working with local partners and assessing a number of options for the future use of the site.

Schools: Cornwall

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the number of children in schools rated as good or outstanding in Cornwall (a) is now and (b) was in 2010.

Nick Gibb: The latest Ofsted inspection data shows the number of children in Cornwall in schools rated good or outstanding as at 31 August 2017, is 61,835. In August 2010 the figure was 51,360.Ofsted’s latest release is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/maintained-schools-and-academies-inspections-and-outcomes-as-at-31-august-2017. Ofsted’s 2010 data is available at:https://public.tableau.com/profile/ofsted#!/vizhome/Dataview/Viewregionalperformanceovertime.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people eligible for 30 hours free childcare earn (a) less than £10,000, (b) £10,001 to £19,999, (c) £20,000 to £29,999, (d) £30,000 to £39,999, (e) £40,000 to £49,999, (f) 50,000 to 59,999, (g) 60,000 to £69,999, (h) £70,000 to £79,999, (i) £80,000 to £89,999 and (j) £90,000 to £100,000.

Mr Robert Goodwill: HMRC checks a parent’s eligibility for 30 hours free childcare (including their income) and a 30 hours eligibility code is generated if the parent is eligible. I am sorry, but we do not hold data on the individual income of successful applicants for 30 hours’ free childcare.

Children's Centres

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it remains her Department's policy to undertake a consultation exercise on the future of children's centres.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Our Social Mobility Action Plan, published on 14 December 2017, sets out the government’s ambition to close the word gap in the early years. This is a clear direction for all those who have a part to play, including children’s centres. Our focus now is on delivering this ambition. Through our new early years’ system leadership programme we will work with sector leaders to identify how best to do so, including through children’s centres.

Children: Day Care

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of providers of 30 hours of funded  childcare in Bristol West constituency.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but the department does not hold the data requested.

Children: Day Care

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children who are currently eligible for 30 hours free childcare in Bristol West constituency.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As of 6 September, 2010 codes were generated for eligible children in Bristol with 1,299 (64%) of these being validated by childcare providers. This figure continues to increase as per our latest management information release in October, which showed 90% of codes being validated across all local councils (compared to 70% in September). On 19 December we will publish an experimental statistics release ’30 hours free childcare: Autumn term 2017’ which will include a local council breakdown of codes issued and validated.

Higher Education: North East

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students studying at Russell Group Universities came from (a) Sunderland and (b) the northeast of England.

Joseph Johnson: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on students enrolled at UK higher education institutions (HEIs), including information on the location of each student’s permanent home address before they started their course (known as “domicile”). Across all English HEIs, 0.3% of students enrolled in the academic year 2015/16 were domiciled in the Sunderland local council area and 3.4% were domiciled in the North East region. The following table details the numbers of students who were enrolled at the 24 Russell Group universities in the UK, in the academic year 2015/16 who were domiciled in the Sunderland local authority area, the North East region and England respectively, broken down by level of study.Enrolments by level of study, for selected domicilesRussell Group in the UKAcademic Year 2015/16Domicile prior to studyPostgraduateUndergraduateTotalSunderland (local authority)2557551,005North East (region)3,9209,98513,905England83,855269,580353,430All domiciles192,515416,795609,305Source: HESA Student Record 2015/16Counts in tables have been rounded to the nearest 5 so may not sum exactly to totals.Russell Group membership as at July 2016 Overall, 0.2% of students enrolled at Russell Group universities were domiciled in the Sunderland local authority area, and 2.3% domiciled in the North East region as a whole.

Children in Care

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children are (a) UK and (b) non-UK EU nationals.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department does not collect information on the nationalities of looked after children.

Foster Care

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many foster carers are (a) UK and (b) non-UK EU nationals.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department does not collect data about the nationality of foster carers in the UK. Local councils are responsible for the provision of sufficient foster carers to meet the needs of the looked after children in their area.

Adoption

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prospective adopters are (a) UK and (b) non-UK EU nationals.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but the department does not hold the information requested.

Children: Social Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the amount spent under section 17 of the Children's Act 1989 by public bodies in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Education collects data on local council spending on a range of services for children and young people. Local councils are not required to provide separate data regarding spend on children provided with support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. The following local authority gross spend may be on children in need but may also provide services to children not assessed as needing support under section 17: 2012-13 £000s2013-14 £000s2014-15 £000s2015-16 £000s2016-17 £000sChild protection and safeguarding£1,965,569£2,026,366£2,122,368£2,226,843£2,334,268Early years and children’s centres£1,193,408£1,053,716£945,453£843,954£774,349Family support£973,056£1,043,722£1,078,865£1,073,944£1,087,140Other children and families services£110,534£100,008£86,959£102,933£87,175Services for young people£815,910£712,771£627,070£527,980£447,532Source: Section 251 Outturn

Innovation Fund

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has allocated to Innovation Fund projects since the creation of that fund.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Education has currently invested over £190 million in 95 projects through the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme since 2014. Innovation Programme projects are developing, testing and scaling new ways of delivering children’s social care services with the aim of improving outcomes for children and families and delivering better value for money. The Innovation Programme is also developing a bank of good practice evidence and tools to enable other councils to improve their own practice and systems and in turn improve outcomes for children. Information about the Innovation Programme, including funding amounts for individual projects as well as independent evaluation reports, is available at http://springconsortium.com/.

Children: Protection

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the (a) average, (b) shortest and  (c) longest period of time a child has spent subject to a Child Protection Plan in the last five years

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but the department does not hold the data in the format you requested.

Children in Care

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of public sector children's homes in England; and what the total capacity is of those homes.

Mr Robert Goodwill: This is a matter for Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, who will write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Foster Care

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of independent fostering agencies in England.

Mr Robert Goodwill: This is a matter for Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, who will write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Offences Against Children

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the outcome of the Government's 2016 consultation on mandatory reporting.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The consultation 'Reporting and acting on child abuse and neglect' sought views on a mandatory duty to report child abuse and neglect and an alternative duty focused on taking appropriate action, as well as the effects of embedding current government reforms. The consultation was a broad exercise which invited views on a range of different models, including the potential scope of any duty and the types of abuse such a duty might pertain to. The government has committed to laying a report before Parliament on the outcome of the consultation. Submissions are being considered and a government response will be published in due course. Just as it was right to consider in depth the evidence around these questions, it is important that we apply equally careful consideration to formulating our response in such a complex policy area, with such vitally important implications for the safety and welfare of children. The government’s ongoing social work reform programme continues to seek to create a world class child protection system, where the needs of individual children are identified early and they get the help and support they require as soon as possible to keep them safe.

Children in Care

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children she has met with since her appointment as Secretary of State.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many social workers she has met with since her appointment as Secretary of State.

Mr Robert Goodwill: My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education has met many looked-after children and social workers since she was appointed as Secretary of State. She has been on several visits and attended a large number of events where social workers, and in some cases young people and children with a care background, were present.

Special Educational Needs

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parents of children with SEND she has met with since her appointment as Secretary of State.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many SEND teachers she has met with since her appointment as Secretary of State.

Mr Robert Goodwill: My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State engages with a wide range of people, including parents of children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) and teachers. Teachers are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils in their class, so every teacher is a teacher of pupils with SEND. The remit of the Minister for Children and Families, whose remit includes SEND policy, has regular engagement with parents of pupils with SEND and with teachers. Such contact has, for example, included a SEND roundtable with parents and teachers on 12 September and a meeting with the National Network of Parent Carer Forums on 19 July. Regular engagement is crucial in informing our thinking about how best to strengthen the systems for supporting children with SEND to achieve their full potential.

Schools: Finance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what expenditure her Department has allocated from the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund to (a) the Condition Improvement Fund and (b) the School Condition Allocations for the period 2018-19.

Mr Robert Goodwill: £100 million of revenue generated from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be utilised for the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund (HPCF). This fund is intended to improve children’s and young people’s physical and mental health by enhancing access to facilities for physical activity, healthy eating, mental health and wellbeing and medical conditions, such as kitchens, dining facilities, changing rooms, playgrounds and sports facilities. The HPCF is available in 2018-19 and will be allocated through the current arrangements for schools condition funding. Single and small academy trusts and sixth-form colleges have had the opportunity to bid for HPCF through the Condition Improvement Fund in 2018-19. The bidding round ran between 19 October and 14 December 2017. Local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and other bodies receiving School Condition Allocations (SCA) will receive a direct allocation from the HPCF. This direct allocation is in addition to their normal SCA and will be calculated, announced and paid alongside it.

Schools: Finance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the planned allocation of expenditure for each type of school in receipt of the School Condition Allocation (SCA) is for the period 2018-19.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The government has committed to invest over £23 billion in the school estate between 2016-17 and 2020-21. The budget for School Condition Allocations (SCA) and the Condition Improvement Fund is set at £1.2 billion per year until 2018-19, with an additional £0.2 billion in Devolved Formula Capital. SCAs are published each year on the gov.uk website, which includes details of the responsible body receiving an allocation. We have not yet finalised allocations for 2018-19 and plan to publish these in Spring 2018. Allocations for 2017-18 may however be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allocations.

Schools: Finance

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to monitor the proportion of Condition Improvement Funds (CIF) which are spent on physical activity and healthy living initiatives; and when her Department plans to publish the CIF final list of approved projects for 2018-19.

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will publish the number and details of applications made for the Condition Improvement Fund period 2018-19.

Mr Robert Goodwill: All successful Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) applicants, including those who receive funding for healthy pupil initiatives through the CIF 2018 to 2019 round, are required to submit project monitoring returns at quarterly intervals throughout the course of the project. In some cases, this will be at monthly intervals informing the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) of project spend and delivery. Failure to do so results in further instalments being withheld. All successful projects are also required to submit a completion return providing evidence of the completion of the works and the total project spend. Any changes to the project, including significant delays, changes to the scope of work or the level of funding are required to be approved by the ESFA via a scope change request. We will publish the number of successful applications, the names of the successful schools and sixth-form colleges and a brief description of the successful project on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund in April 2018.

Schools: Knowsley

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how schools in Knowsley Metropolitan Borough will benefit from her Department's Level 3 Maths Support Programme to increase A Level provision?

Nick Gibb: The Level 3 Mathematics Support Programme is a new programme designed to support schools and colleges setting up and maintaining level 3 mathematics provision, including AS/A level mathematics and further mathematics, and level 3 core maths qualifications. We are in the process of procuring an organisation to deliver this initiative.As part of its remit, the programme is expected to target eligible schools and colleges in opportunity areas and areas of low level 3 mathematics participation for additional support, and to work with them to increase participation. Therefore, any school or college opening level 3 provision in Knowsley would fall within the scope of the targeted element of the programme.

Pre-school Education: Colne Valley

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children who were (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals achieved school readiness standards at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stages in each year since 2010 in Colne Valley constituency.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Data has been provided for years 2013 to 2017 in the attached table. Data prior to 2013 is not readily available.Following an independent review of the Early Years Foundation Stage, a revised profile was introduced in September 2012 with the first assessments taking place in summer 2013. The revised profile is very different to the previous profile which has led to a break in the time series as the results are not comparable. 



Data table for years 2013 to 2017 
(Word Document, 26.55 KB)

Department for Education: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, to which legislation her Department has applied the Family Test, published in August 2014.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Guidance to departments on the application of the Family Test to domestic policy was published on 31 October 2014. The criteria for assessing policies, including those which require primary legislation, are set out in the guidance. Policy is to be assessed against the Family Test questions if it has a demonstrable impact on family relationships and functions, and if the impact is not small, indirect or temporary. We have therefore published assessments of the impact on families on a number of occasions when legislation was introduced to Parliament. For the Childcare Act 2016 the assessment can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-bill-impact-assessment. For the Education and Adoption Act 2016 the assessment can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-and-adoption-bill-impact-assessment. For the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 the assessment can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/528005/bis-16-295-he-research-bill-detailed-impact-assessment.pdf. For the Children and Social Work Act 2017 the assessment can be found athttps://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA16-008.pdf.

Overseas Students: Loans

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to prevent foreign students from not repaying outstanding loans in respect of private university fees.

Joseph Johnson: An eligible student qualifies for financial support in connection with a designated course subject to and in accordance with these the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (as amended). To meet the requirements for support, a student should have settled status or a recognised connection with the United Kingdom: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1986/regulation/4/made. The Student Loans Company (SLC) has arrangements in place to collect repayments from borrowers who move away from the UK and establishes a repayment schedule based on the borrower’s income and provides information on the methods of repayment available. If borrowers based overseas fail to remain in contact with the SLC, the SLC will set up a fixed repayment schedule and place those borrowers in arrears. Borrowers with post-2012 loans who have not remained in contact with the SLC are charged the maximum interest rate of RPI+3% until they get back in touch. Further action, including legal action, can then be taken to secure recovery.The department published a Joint Repayment Strategy in February 2016, which sets out how action will be taken to trace borrowers and act to recover loans where avoidance or evasion is identified. This publication can be found on the government’s website.

Department for Education: Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of her Department's Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions have advised that the requested information was not available on the grounds of disproportionate cost associated with data collection and collation in the current session.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In the current parliamentary session (as at 13 December 2017) 2,365 written PQs have been answered by the Department. 33 (1.4%) of which were answered advising that the requested information was not available due to disproportionate costs.

Department for Education: EU Nationals

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many non-UK EU nationals started employment in his Department since 23 June 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: All government departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of people qualifying for the 15-hour free childcare for the most disadvantaged two-year-olds have taken up that provision in the borough of Telford and Wrekin.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As at January 2017, take up of the 2-year-old entitlement in Telford and Wrekin is 79%. This is 12 percentage points above the average in the East Midlands, and eight percentage points above the average in England. Take up in Telford and Wrekin has increased by 15 percentage points since 2015.

Erasmus+ Programme

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether there are any contingency plans for a replacement for the ERASMUS+ scheme for UK Universities in the event that the UK does not renegotiate access to ERASMUS+.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Care Leavers

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of care leavers were (a) UK and (b) non-UK EU nationals in each of the last three years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but the department does not collect information on the nationalities of looked after children or care leavers.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference the Oral Answer of the Prime Minister of 6 December 2017, Official Report, column 1023, what assessment her Department has made of which local authorities are operating the 30 hours of funded childcare policy effectively.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As set out in the experimental statistics published on 19 December, 224,885 codes have been generated for parents applying for 30 hours free childcare in the autumn term, and there are 202,783 children in a place. This information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-autumn-term-2017.This demonstrates that local authorities are effectively delivering the policy and we continue to work closely with them, both directly and through our delivery contractor, ‘Childcare Works’, to support them to deliver 30 hours.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2017 to Question 118327 on Children: Day Care, and with reference to the Early years national funding formula updated on 17 November 2017, whether the funding rates for financial year 2018-19  will be (a) amended or (b) if further funding will be announced later in December 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Early Years National Funding Formula hourly funding rates for local authorities to fund the free childcare entitlements for three and four year olds in 2018-19, were published on 17 November. This can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-national-funding-formula-allocations-and-guidance. The 2018-19 initial early years funding allocations to local authorities will be announced shortly.

Care Leavers: Suicide

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of young people who leave care and later take their own lives; and what steps she is taking to reduce the number of young people who leave care and later take their own lives.

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the development of young people who have left care.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department does not record data on the reason for deaths of care leavers.We are committed to ensuring that care leavers are able to access the mental health support that they need to maintain positive emotional health and well-being. A joint Department of Health and Department for Education Expert Working Group has recently published its proposals for improving the mental health of looked after children and care leavers. A copy of their report is available at: https://www.scie.org.uk/children/care/mental-health/report.Work to address the Expert Group’s findings is already underway. We are putting a record £1.4 billion into children and young people’s mental health and a further £3 million has been committed to support the recently published Children and Young People’s Mental Health Green Paper. We will now consider the Expert Working Group’s report in the context of the green paper with a view to taking further action.More broadly, the government published its third progress report on preventing suicide in England in 2016, including the measures it is taking to prevent suicides among children and young people. A copy of the report is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/582117/Suicide_report_2016_A.pdf.We published our new cross-government strategy, Keep on Caring, in July 2016 which set out the measures we will take to improve the overall outcomes for care leavers. A copy is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/535899/Care-Leaver-Strategy.pdf.The department publishes data annually on care leavers aged 17 to 21, which includes information on their main activity and whether or not they are in suitable accommodation. The latest data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2016-to-2017.

Parkfield School Bournemouth

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July to Question 2169 on Parkfield School, Bournemouth, whether that project is now complete.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The school moved to its permanent site in September 2017 and the Education and Skills Funding Agency is currently commissioning the remaining works on site, for completion in 2018.

Universities

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the economic effect of the UK leaving the EU on the university sector.

Joseph Johnson: We are working closely with the higher education sector to ensure we understand the potential economic and other implications of EU exit for universities, including through the High Level Stakeholder Working Group.We know that, in particular, arrangements for EU students and staff and access to EU research funding are key interests for the sector. These issues will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.The government has taken action to provide greater certainty. We announced that EU students starting their courses in the academic year 2018/19 or before will continue to be eligible for student loans and home fee status for the duration of their course, and remain eligible for Research Council PhD studentships on the current basis. The agreement we have now reached with the EU on the first phase of negotiations allows the UK to continue benefitting from EU programmes - including Horizon2020 and Erasmus+ - under this budget plan.We frequently liaise with the Higher Education Funding Council for England on financial sustainability and soon the department will be working with the Office for Students to continue to understand the sector’s finances under the new regulatory framework.

Pre-school Education: Standards

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children attend early years settings which are rated either satisfactory or inadequate by Ofsted.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Ofsted is the non-ministerial government department responsible for the regulation of early education and childcare providers. They publish a regular series of statistics relating to early years providers, which can be viewed from this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted/about/statistics.I have informed Ofsted of this question and Her Majesty's Chief Inspector will be writing to the Hon. Member in response. A copy of that letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children who were eligible for the 30 funded hours of childcare this term, but are not eligible in the January term because their parents (a) now exceed the earnings limit and (b) now earn below the minimum amount.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but the specific information that has been requested is not available. We expect that a small proportion of parents will drop out of eligibility for 30 hours’ free childcare due to a change in their circumstances. Where this situation occurs, we have introduced a grace period which will enable parents to retain their childcare place for a short period if they have become ineligible for 30 hours. This is in order to avoid disruption for the child, enable parents to make alternative arrangements as a result of a loss of eligibility and allow providers and local authorities greater certainty when managing their childcare places. Further information about the grace period can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-la-and-early-years-provider-guide.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of eligible children received 15 hours of free childcare in each year since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The percentage of two, three and four year old children benefitting from funded early years education (years 2011 to 2017) is available within Table 5LA of the Main Tables on the department’s website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/education-provision-children-under-5-years-of-age-january-2017. The percentage of three and four year olds benefitting from funded early education places as at January 2010 is available within Table 1 of the Main Tables on the department`s website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/provision-for-children-under-5-years-of-age-in-england-january-2010.

Ministry of Justice

Sexual Offences: Young People

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to monitor proper and effective implementation of section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 in sexual violence cases.

Dominic Raab: Our report on section 41 and how it operates in practice, including further steps the Government is taking, was published on 14 December 2017 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/limiting-the-use-of-complainants-sexual-history-in-sexual-offence-cases

Berwyn Prison

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the level of turnover in staff at HM Prison Berwyn since that prison opened in Spring 2017.

Mr Sam Gyimah: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 28 November 2017.The correct answer should have been:

Berwyn has to date (Friday 24 November) a total of 570 direct employees (this is headcount and not Full Time Equivalents, FTE), since the start we have had 27 resignations. This is a total turnover of 4.7%, 11 of these were Prison Officers which equates to a turnover of 1.9%. The Government is determined to ensure that prisons are properly staffed to deliver safety and security and we are on target to recruit 2,500 extra prison officers across the estate. We are committed to supporting staff in the service, and are launching a retention strategy to help Governors ensure experienced staff remain in the service and are supported, alongside the new recruits.   Since HMP Berwyn opened in February 2017, the staff turnover, known as leaving rate is provided in the table below. Table 1: Staff leaving rate at HM Prison Berwyn, February to September 2017 Average staff in post* (headcount) Leavers (headcount)Leaving rate496275.4%*Based on the average staff in post on the last day of the month from February to September 2017.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Berwyn has to date (Friday 24 November) a total of 570 direct employees (this is headcount and not Full Time Equivalents, FTE), since the start we have had 27 resignations. This is a total turnover of 4.7%, 11 of these were Prison Officers which equates to a turnover of 1.9%. The Government is determined to ensure that prisons are properly staffed to deliver safety and security and we are on target to recruit 2,500 extra prison officers across the estate. We are committed to supporting staff in the service, and are launching a retention strategy to help Governors ensure experienced staff remain in the service and are supported, alongside the new recruits.   Since HMP Berwyn opened in February 2017, the staff turnover, known as leaving rate is provided in the table below. Table 1: Staff leaving rate at HM Prison Berwyn, February to September 2017 Average staff in post* (headcount) Leavers (headcount)Leaving rate496275.4%*Based on the average staff in post on the last day of the month from February to September 2017.

Cohabitation

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the Law Commission consultation entitled, Cohabitation: the financial  consequences of relationship breakdown, published in May 2006, on providing greater legal rights for cohabitees.

Dominic Raab: The Law Commission consulted on financial remedies for cohabiting couples in 2006 and published its report in July 2007. The Government will respond to the recommendations in due course.

Legal Aid Scheme

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average hourly payment was to a legal aid lawyer providing early legal help for (a) family court, (b) housing, (c) welfare benefits and (d) employment cases in each year since 2010.

Dominic Raab: Legal Help is a level of service that provides initial early advice. It can be provided face-to-face and additionally, in some categories of law, through the specialist telephone advice service, Civil Legal Advice (CLA). There are different payment mechanisms for each. Most Legal Help work is paid through fixed fees rather than hourly rates, and therefore the Legal Aid Agency does not hold the information necessary to meaningfully calculate annual average hourly payments for this work. The fixed fees (and where applicable the hourly rates) are set out in the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013.

Probation

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has any plans to reassess the provision of probation services in England and Wales.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has any plans to revise the next round of contracts for community rehabilitation companies in England and Wales.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Following an internal review we have changed CRC contracts to better reflect their costs and we are clear that CRCs must deliver a higher standard of probation services. We continue to keep the operation of the probation system under close review.

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has any plans to amend section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.

Dominic Raab: Our report on section 41 and how it operates in practice including further steps the Government is taking was published on 14 December 2017 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/limiting-the-use-of-complainants-sexual-history-in-sexual-offence-cases

Employment Tribunals Service: Fees and Charges

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Supreme Court's ruling on 26 July 2017, what his Department's policy in on reintroducing employment tribunal fees at a lower level than the Supreme Court deemed unlawful in July 2017.

Dominic Raab: The Government is considering the judgment very carefully and will set out any proposals for future fees in due course.

Legal Aid Scheme

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of changes to the availability of the early legal help component of legal aid on the expenditure of other Government departments.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 18 December 2017



The Lord Chancellor recently announced the beginning of the Government’s Post-Implementation Review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), which will fulfil our commitment to Parliament to assess the legal aid changes made by the Act. This will include an analysis of data collected by the Legal Aid Agency and other institutions in order to ensure that the public is receiving both value for money and access to a world leading legal system.

Prisoners: Screening

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons use the Basic Custody Screening Tool; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the data collected by that too in the last 12 months with personally identifiable information removed.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We have an established network of resettlement prisons which are used to facilitate the transition from custody into the community, to enable Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to work with those prisoners returning to their local area. The Basic Custody Screening Tool (BCST) is completed in all of these resettlement prisons at the beginning of a prisoner’s custodial sentence. It is not completed in non-resettlement prisons. A list of resettlement prisons is attached. From the BCST records held centrally, removal of personally identifiable information could only be carried out at disproportionate cost. As you will appreciate it would not be appropriate to release the raw data as recorded, given the potential sensitivity of those records and indeed the regulations of the Data Protection Act. List of resettlement prisons in England and Wales HMP AltcourseHMP Kirklevington GrangeHMP Askham GrangeHMP Lancaster FarmsHMP BedfordHMP LeedsHMP BelmarshHMP LeicesterHMP BerwynHMP LewesHMP BirminghamHMP LeyhillHMPYOI BrinsfordHMP LincolnHMP BristolHMP LiverpoolHMP BrixtonHMP Low NewtonHMP BronzefieldHMP ManchesterHMP BullingdonHMP MoorlandHMP CardiffHMP MountHMP Channings WoodHMP New HallHMP ChelmsfordHMP North Sea CampHMP ColdingleyHMP NorthumberlandHMP DoncasterHMP NorwichHMP DovegateHMP NottinghamHMP DownviewHMP OakwoodHMP Drake HallHMP OnleyHMP DurhamHMP ParcHMP East Sutton ParkHMP PentonvilleHMP Eastwood ParkHMP PeterboroughHMP ElmleyHMP PortlandHMP ExeterHMP PrestonHMP FeatherstoneHMP RanbyHMPYOI FelthamHMP RisleyHMP FordHMP RochesterHMP Forest BankHMP SendHMP Foston HallHMP Standford HillHMP Grendon/Spring HillHMP Stoke HeathHMP Guys MarshHMP StyalHMP HatfieldHMP SudburyHMP HaveriggHMP SwanseaHMP HewellHMP ThamesideHMP High DownHMP Thorn CrossHMP HighpointHMP Usk / PrescoedHMP HindleyHMP WandsworthHMP Hollesley BayHMP WaylandHMP Holme HouseHMP WealstunHMP HullHMP WinchesterHMP HumberHMP WoodhillHMP IsisHMP Wormwood ScrubsHMP Kirkham

Prisons: Standards

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the results of the Measuring the Quality of Prison Life survey from the last five years and the reports generated for each prison based on that survey.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service carry out Measuring the Quality of Life surveys of individual prisons on a rolling programme. On Thursday 26 October, the Ministry of Justice launched Justice Data, a new public facing platform for presenting published performance data. The website will be accessible at https://www.data.justice.gov.uk/prisons and includes a year of MQPL performance on Safety and Decency. Until 2016/17 the scores for some dimensions of the prisoner surveys were included in the Prison Rating System (PRS) which was published annually. The results for 2016/17 can be found on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-annual-performance-ratings-2016-to-2017 and previous years will be available in the PRS reports at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics The PRS has been replaced with the Custodial Performance Tool and certain dimensions of the prisoner survey such as safety are part of this assessment. I have no plans to publish the reports of the Measuring the Quality of Life surveys as they are produced purely for management information.

Community Orders

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research the Government has conducted on the reasons why the number of community sentences has declined in the last five years; and if he will place that research in the Library.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 18 December 2017



Our data shows that between 2010 and 2016, the number of community orders issued fell by 40% (over the same period, prosecutions fell 12%). The fall in number of defendants appearing before court and changes in the mix of offences coming to court are key factors in overall decreased numbers of community sentences. Published statistics can be found in the Criminal Justice Statistics outcomes by offence tool as part of the Criminal Justice Statistics quarterly (December 2016), linked below, on gov.uk.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2016

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Temporary Employment

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many agency staff work in HM Courts and Tribunal Service.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The current number of agency staff working for HM Courts and Tribunals Service as at 30th September 2017 was 2005.

Prisons: Staff

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions wings of prisons have been closed due to insufficient staff levels in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The information obtained could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Government is fully committed to making our prisons safe and is actively taking the measures necessary to ensure that. We are boosting the number of prison officers by 2,500 and we have already reached the halfway mark over the past year with a further 1,211 candidates who have received job offers. In addition to that, we are also giving officers the tools they need to manage violent offenders – investing in body-worn cameras, new style handcuffs and piloting PAVA incapacitant spray.

Prisons: Staff

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions wings of private prisons have been closed as a result of  insufficient availability of staff in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We require privately managed prisons to have a sufficient number of staff to maintain a safe and secure prison. We have robust processes in place to closely monitor and manage private providers and will not hesitate to take action when standards fall short.

Prisons: Staff

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has undertaken a risk assessment of the unplanned closures of sections of prisons as a result of insufficient availability of staff.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Governors and senior operational staff in prisons proactively manage the risk of unplanned closures and the effects on safety, staffing levels and delivery of effective regimes. The regime management plan was developed specifically to provide a tool to assist in this.

Prisons: Mobile Phones

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many mobile phones or sim cards were found in each prison in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The information requested was provided in response to PQ 64325, which was answered on 17 February 2016.

National Tactical Response Group

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times and to which prisons has the National Offender Management Service’s National Tactical Response Group been deployed in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) provides additional support staff or resources to prisons to help them deal with a variety of incidents. The overwhelming majority of call outs are for non-violent incidents, including where they attended as a precaution and when the situation was resolved locally. NTRG deployments are detailed in the attached appendix: 



Appendix
(Word Document, 45.87 KB)

Prisoners: Hearing Impairment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) females and (b) males (i) serving a custodial sentence and (ii) on remand were recorded as deaf in each of the past five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisoners' Release: Hearing Impairment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people with a hearing impairment have been released early from a custodial sentence in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many days of detached duty have been worked by prison officers in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The deployment of staff between prisons on detached duty is a regular and normal part of prison resourcing. It allows staff to be allocated from prisons with the capacity to provide them, to those where additional staffing is required. Since October 2013, national detached duty has been coordinated centrally. Detached duty has taken place every day since this date.

Offenders: London Community Rehabilitation Company

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department was made aware of reports that 15,000 meetings between offenders and the London Community Rehabilitation Company had been missed.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Senior officials regularly meet with London CRC to hold them to account for delivery, including through actions of the HMPPS Contract Management Team. In November 2016 a taskforce was established as a result of the concerns raised by our contract compliance team and HMI Probation. Since then, London CRC has developed a comprehensive action plan and bolstered its senior leadership. They have revised their staffing structures to ensure that caseloads are manageable and robust action is being taken in relation to under-performance.

Community Orders: Females

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the analysis conducted by his Department and HM Treasury on the financial implications of community sentences for women.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Ministry of Justice and HM Treasury analysis was completed earlier this year and its findings, as intended, will be reflected in the Female Offender Strategy. The strategy will be published in due course.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has been made aware of allegations of Community Rehabilitation Companies falsifying records, other than the London Community Rehabilitation Company.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We have had no reports of such allegations but would take appropriate and robust action in such circumstances. Public protection is our top priority and we will take all necessary action to make sure the probation system is reducing reoffending and preventing future victims.

Prisons: Finance

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the change has been to the prisons budget in real terms in each year since 2010; and what the projected change will be in real terms in each year to 2022.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Budgets are subject to in year movement and organisational restructure. Prison unit costs are published annually, providing the actual cost mechanism for all prisons. These are not comparable across the long term due to changes in accounting treatments and scope of business which do not provide a consistent basis. Additionally, the public sector and private sector costs are not directly comparable because of differences in method of financing and scope of services. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (formerly known as the National Offender Management Service), routinely publishes average costs per prisoner, costs per prison place and overall prison unit costs for each private and public sector prison in England and Wales. This information is produced on an annual basis and is published after the end of each financial year. Information on actual prison expenditure for previous financial years can be accessed in the Prison and Probation Performance Statistics pages for each financial year on the https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics#prison-performance-statistics. Prison unit costs can be found within the Excel document Costs per prison place and cost per prisoner by individual prison establishment in the ‘Cost by Establishment’ tab. The most recent published figures for financial year 2016-17 can be accessed on the www.gov.uk website from the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-performance-statistics-2016-to-2017Within the costs per prison place and cost per prisoner 2016 to 2017 summary file, the figures for financial year 2015-16 have been restated to enable a more fair comparison between the two years.Prison Budgets for future financial years have yet to reach a settlement and therefore have not yet been finalised.

Probation: Staff

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the change in the number of full-time equivalent staff employed by private probation firms since 2016.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The contracts with Community Rehabilitation Companies require each CRC to ensure that it employs a sufficient level of staff, and that its workforce is competent and adequately trained. Our Contract Management Teams continually monitor and robustly manage providers on a local basis, taking into account the regional context, to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to reduce reoffending, protect the public and provide value for money to the taxpayer. Public protection is our top priority and we will take all necessary action to make sure the probation system is reducing reoffending and preventing future victims.

Prison Officers

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been deployed on detached duty in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The deployment of staff between prisons on detached duty is a regular and normal part of prison resourcing. It allows staff to be allocated from prisons with the capacity to provide them, to those where additional staffing is required. Since October 2013, national detached duty has been coordinated centrally. Detached duty has taken place every day since this date.

Harassment: Court Orders

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had on ensuring that restraining orders remain legally enforceable across the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

Dominic Raab: The Government has published two position papers on civil and criminal justice that makes clear that continued effective frameworks in these areas are an important part of the deep and special partnership we want to establish with the EU. It is in the interests of the UK and the EU that there continue to be effective frameworks in these areas after we leave. The exact nature of these frameworks is the subject of negotiations with our EU partners.

Members: Correspondence

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to the letter of the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland of 20 November 2017 on the release of a child sex offender.

Dr Phillip Lee: The response you have requested was sent out on 14 December 2017.

Treasure Act 1996

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases under the Treasure Act 1996 have been reported in the last year in which it has been claimed by finders that the items discovered date to before commencement of that Act; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Phillip Lee: Inquests into finds of precious metal made before the Treasure Act 1996 came into force on 24 September 1997 are heard as treasure trove inquests under the common law and not under the 1996 Act. There were two such inquests in 2016.

County Courts: Debt Collection

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of  county court actions for debt recovery, and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab: The latest data published in the ‘Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly’ by the Ministry of Justice shows that in England & Wales from July to September 2017 there were 445,000 specified money claims (where the claimant seeks to recover a specific sum of money), an increase of 15% compared to the same period in 2016. This increase is driven by low value (£1000 or less) specified money claims. The Ministry of Justice continues to engage with court users to gain further insight on the increase.

Custodial Treatment: Private Sector

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2017 to Question 118434, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of private providers managing custodial sentences in each year since 2010.

Dominic Raab: This was provided in Lord Keen of Elie’s answer to HL3476, to which your Question 118434 referred.

Prime Minister

European Parliament

Catherine West: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her oral answer to the Right Honourable Member for Cynon Valley of 9 October 2017, Official Report, column 59, what progress she has made on setting a date to address a plenary session of the European Parliament.

Catherine West: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the oral answer to the Right Honourable Member for Cynon Valley on 9 October 2017, Official Report, column 59, whether it remains her policy to address a plenary session at the European Parliament.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs Clwyd) on 18 December 2017, Official Report, column 758.

Ministry of Defence

Hurricanes and Tornadoes: Caribbean

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, from which Department's budget the cost of funding disaster relief efforts provided by the Royal Navy following Hurricane Irma will come.

Mark Lancaster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 November 2017 to Question 115053 to the hon. Member for Warley (Mr Spellar).



115053 - WQnA extract on Islands: Hurricanes
(Word Document, 12.9 KB)

RAF Volunteer Reserve

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the total strength of the Royal Air Force Reserve as of 1 April 2017 qualified for their annual bounty.

Mark Lancaster: As of 1 April 2017, 1,490 Royal Auxiliary Air Force members qualified for their annual bounty.

RAF Volunteer Reserve

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Air Force Reservists who received their bounty in April 2017 qualified for (a) Year 1 (£440), (b) Year 2 (£972), (c) Year 3 (£1502), (d) Year 4 (£1502) and (e) Year 5 (£1742).

Mark Lancaster: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

RAF Volunteer Reserve

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average number of Man Training Days (MTDs) claimed by the Royal Air Force Reserve under the recruitment budget was for (a) an individual RAF reservist, (b) a Squadron for the training year April 2016-March 2017.

Mark Lancaster: Man Training Days are not charged to the recruitment budget.

RAF Volunteer Reserve

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Additional Duties and (b) Full Time Reserve contracts have been utilised by the Royal Air Force Reserve under its recruitment budget?

Mark Lancaster: Additional Duties and Full Time Reserve contracts are not utilised through the Royal Auxiliary Air Force recruitment budget.

RAF Volunteer Reserve

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the total strength of the Royal Air Force Reserve as of 1 October 2017 are (a) on Full time Reserve Contracts, (b) on Additional Duties Contracts and (c) Regular Air Force Personnel on fixed term attachments.

Mark Lancaster: As of 1 October 2017 the total strength of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force was 2,870, some 1,146 Personnel were on Full Time Volunteer Reserve contracts and 96 Personnel were on Additional Duties contracts.As of 1 October 2017 there were 66 Regular Royal Air Force personnel assigned to duties with the Royal Auxiliary Air Force.

RAF Volunteer Reserve

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of Royal Air Force Reservists had transferred directly from Regular service as at 1 October 2017.

Mark Lancaster: As at 1 October 2017 some 270 personnel on the Royal Auxiliary Air Force strength had transferred from the Regular RAF.

Air Force: Females

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women (a) applied for, (b) were accepted on and (c) completed the Initial Officer Training Course at RAF College Cranwell for each course since the start of 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There were 4,318 applications from women, and 263 women were accepted onto Initial Officer Training (IOT) at RAF College Cranwell between 1 January 2015 and 31 October 2017. Successful applicants are then allocated to a course.The number of women who completed IOT, broken down by year and course, is shown in the attached tables.



Women completing the Initial Officer Training
(Word Document, 19.15 KB)

Ministry of Defence: Unidentified Flying Objects

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government plans to replace the UFO desk; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government has no plans to replace the UFO desk.

Armed Forces: Housing

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service family accommodation properties as part of a sub-letting programme to civilians have been allocated to (a) civil servants (b) reservists and (c) any other civilian group by group in each of the last three years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As part of a sub-letting programme, the number of Service Family Accommodation properties allocated to the following groups of people in each of the last three years is:Civil ServantsReservistsOther Civilians2017-18 - Present311425212016-17Not HeldNot Held2502015-16Not HeldNot Held142

Army: Training

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many men (a) applied for, (b) were accepted on and (c) completed the UK Officer Commissioning Course at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for each course since the start of 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The number of men who made Regular Officer applications relevant to the period requested is shown below. Application yearNumber of Officer applications made by men20145,77020155,990201610,2002017 to 30 September8,450 The number of men who attended and completed the UK Officer Commissioning Course at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for each course from January 2015 is shown below. Regular Course Start MonthMale Course AttendeesMale Course PassesJanuary 2015160130May 2015190180September 2015220180January 2016190160May 2016190170September 2016230200January 2017220 May 2017240 September 2017230  Notes The figures above are for Regular Officers only. Figures for Professionally Qualified Officers and Reserves could not be obtained in the time available.These figures are single service estimates only and are not official statistics produced by Defence Statistics. Individual applications within table one cannot be directly linked with individual course attendees in table two. The first table shows the number of applications made by men. Some may have made multiple applications. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, except where specified; numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Rounding is necessary, as a means of disclosure control and the preservation of anonymity; it also improves the clarity of output and conveys an appropriate level of precision to users.

Air Force: Training

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many men (a) applied for, (b) were accepted on and (c) completed the Initial Officer Training Course at RAF College Cranwell for each course since the start of 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There were 18,331 applications from men, and 1,232 men were accepted onto Initial Officer Training (IOT) at RAF College Cranwell between 1 January 2015 and 31 October 2017. Successful applicants are then allocated to a course. The number of men who completed IOT, broken down by year and course, is provided in the attached.



118836-Men who completed Initial Officer Training
(Word Document, 18.91 KB)

Army: Training

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Army recruits aged (a) under 18 years and (b) 18 years and over completed phase two training and trained trade strength in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Lancaster: The proportion of Army recruits aged under 18 years and 18 years or over on enlistment and who completed phase two training and joined the trade strength is shown below: Financial Year of IntakeUnder 1818 and over2014-1569%74% Notes: The figures are for Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from Gurkha Trained Adult Manpower to UK Trained Adult Personnel. The table above provides a proportion of phase 2 Trained personnel based upon an intake cohort in a financial year 2014-15. This year is the latest available intake cohort where nearly all personnel have either outflowed from training or completed phase 2 training.

Armed Forces: Pay

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the starting salary for (a) cooks and (b) stewards is in (i) the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, (ii) the Army and (iii) the Royal Air Force; and what the starting salary is for stokers in the Royal Navy.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Details are available at this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/armed-forces-pay-review-body-forty-sixth-report-2017

Military Aircraft

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the evidence given to the Defence Select Committee on Tuesday 17 October 2017, if he will make a statement on his Department's proposal to fit Multifunction Advanced Data Link on platforms other than the F35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Harriett Baldwin: The Ministry of Defence, alongside US Services, is continuing to explore the value of exchanging the data carried on the Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) with other platforms through the classified series of Babel Fish trials. If these trials identify benefits, we will look to set requirements for, and invest in, these types of technologies, noting that other vendors offer capabilities similar to MADL.

Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many maritime patrol aircraft from (a) the US, (b) Canada, (c) France and (d) Germany were temporarily deployed to RAF Lossiemouth in (i) 2016 and (ii) 2017.

Mark Lancaster: The country and number of maritime patrol aircraft temporarily deployed to RAF Lossiemouth from 1 January 2017 to 30 November 2017 is given below. Country fromNumber of AircraftUnited States8Canada5France2Germany1Norway1 For figures for 2016, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Under Secretary of State and Minster of Defence People and Veterans (Tobias Ellwood) on 20 July 2017 to question 5107. 



119101 - WQnA extract on Martime Patrol Aircraft
(Word Document, 13.19 KB)

Army: Scotland

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many recruits who applied to the Army Careers Service with an address in Scotland in the last year were subsequently deployed to regiments other than the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: As of 30 September 2017 of those recruits who applied to join and completed their training between 1 October 2016 and 30 September 2017 with an address in Scotland, 10 have joined units other than the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The majority of those who applied in that year, including those with a Scottish address will not have completed their training and therefore have not deployed to their Regiment. All applications to join the Army are initiated through the Army website.Notes: The figure has been rounded to the nearest 10; numbers ending in "5" will be rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. The figure is a single service estimate that has not been validated or subject to the same level of quality checks as official defence statistics.

Armed Forces: Officers

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officers from each of the three services in each rank between OF6 and OF10 are based in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The information requested is presented below: Officers Ranked OF-6 to OF-9 broken down by Location, Service and Rank as at 1 October 2017  RN/RMArmyRAFTotalEngland100160100370OF-67012070260OF-720302080OF-81010~20OF-9~~~10Scotland~10-10OF-6~~-10OF-7~~-~OF-8----OF-9----Wales-~-~OF-6-~-~OF-7----OF-8----OF-9----Northern Ireland-~-~OF-6-~-~OF-7----OF-8----OF-9----Total110170100380 Key- Zero~ Five or fewerNotes 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, though numbers ending in a “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias caused by rounding numbers upwards. 2. Totals and sub-totals are rounded separately and so may not equal the sums of their rounded parts. 3. Figures provided are for Regulars only and do not include Full Time Reserve Service. 4. There are no senior serving officers at OF10. 5. OF-6 = Commodore /Brigadier / Air commodoreOF-7 = Rear Admiral / Major General / Air Vice-MarshalOF-8 = Vice Admiral / Lieutenant General / Air MarshalOF -9 = Admiral / General / Air Chief Marshal

Armed Forces: Females

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment the Government has been made of the potential effect of proposed changes to the selection processes of the SAS and SBS to increase the number of women recruits on morale, discipline and martial capability within those units.

Mark Lancaster: The Government does not comment on UK Special Forces.

Armed Forces: Private Rented Housing

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel lived in private rented accommodation in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014, (f) 2015, (g) 2016 and (h) 2017.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on the numbers of Service personnel who privately rent their accommodation.

Type 31 Frigates

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on the development of the Type 31e General Purpose Frigate programme; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 November 2017 to Question 114918 to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine).



Frigate Procurement
(Word Document, 18.63 KB)

Warships: Shipbuilding

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons there are no key industrial capabilities with regard to the UK complex warship building industry identified in the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

Harriett Baldwin: The National Shipbuilding Strategy set out that we would seek to ensure the UK's long term operational advantage and freedom of action by strengthening the nation's industrial shipbuilding base, including the ability to design, build and integrate warships.

HMS Ocean

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the decision to decommission HMS Ocean in 2018 was finalised before the refit of that warship in 2014.

Harriett Baldwin: HMS OCEAN entered service in 1998 with a specified service life, based on her build specification, of 20 years. Work on HMS OCEAN's refit began in December 2012 and was completed in August 2014. The timing of the refit was driven by the mandatory requirement to revalidate the ship's safety and environmental certification. The decommissioning date of 2018 is the same as that planned at the time of this refit.

Warships: Shipbuilding

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the National Shipbuilding Strategy is planned to achieve upper quartile performance in the UK complex warship building industry as previously set out in the Terms of Business Agreement signed in 2009 between his Department and the company currently known as BAE Surface Systems Ships Ltd.

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons his Department has decided no longer explicitly to commit to achieving the national sovereign capability to achieve a build interval of one shipbuild every 12 months and a design interval of every six years for complex warships as previously set out in the Terms of Business Agreement signed between his Department and the company currently known as BAE Surface Systems Ships Ltd.

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which aspects of the Terms of Business Agreement signed in 2009 between his Department and the company currently known as BAE Systems Surface Ships Ltd have been transferred to the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

Harriett Baldwin: The National Shipbuilding Strategy lays the foundations for a modern and efficient shipbuilding sector capable of meeting the country's future defence and security needs.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Christmas

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures are being taken to ensure that Universal Credit claimants are paid on time over the Christmas season.

Damian Hinds: The Department will advance the timing of all payments for people affected by bank holidays, to make sure they have money over the festive period. This year, we have also added a faster payment contingency function for people who need a Universal Credit advance. Universal Credit payments due to be received on 23, 24, 25 & 26 December will be paid no later than 22 December. Universal Credit payments due to be received on 30, 31 December & 1 January will receive payment no later than 29 December.

First Aid: Adrenaline

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the merits of including training in the use of Epinephrene auto-injectors in guidance for first aid training course providers.

Sarah Newton: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for regulating first aid provision in the workplace, as set out in the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, but is no longer responsible for the regulation of general workplace first aid training. The training syllabus for first aid at work requires workplace first aiders to be trained in administering first aid to a casualty in anaphylactic shock; training providers may choose to include the use of adrenaline (epinephrine) auto-injectors as part of this. It is the employer’s responsibility to conduct a first aid needs assessment. If this highlighted a need for training around the use of auto-injectors it would be for them to identify a suitable training provider.

Employment: Treaties

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the status is of the Government’s response to the International Labour Organisation’s Questionnaire on the proposed Convention on Ending Violence and Harassment Against Women and Men in the World of Work.

Damian Hinds: The Government welcomes the International Labour Organisation’s initiative to address violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work. The Government submitted a formal response to the ILO questionnaire in October 2017.

Employment: Treaties

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the Government plans to support the effective adoption of a Convention on making women and men safe at work (a) within and (b) outside of the ambit of International Labour Organisation’s Questionnaire.

Damian Hinds: The Government welcomes the International Labour Organisation’s initiative on ‘Ending Violence and Harassment for Women and Men at Work’ and will continue its close engagement with social partners in the UK and ILO members in seeking an outcome that reflects the key challenges and builds on UK good practice. In the UK, the law requires employers to assess the risks to employees, including the risk of reasonably foreseeable violence, decide how significant those risks are and implement preventative or control measures. The law is underpinned by an effective regulatory framework, extensive guidance and information for employers and employees, and a social partner agreement, all aimed at preventing workplace harassment and violence. The UK is also leading the way internationally in efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, generating world-leading innovation and evidence on the most effective interventions.

Universal Credit: Telephone Services

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls made to the universal credit helpline in each month from September 2016 to date were abandoned.

Damian Hinds: The numbers of calls received and abandoned are set out in the table below.  Calls receivedOf which, calls abandonedSeptember 2016752931107647October 201667261774729November 201670769091348December 201660758260856January 2017860875105893February 2017779433102557March 201789497984618April 201769284351493May 201775183755915June 201776305296626July 201775436799094August 2017790936124427September 2017780989121939October 2017849779123556 The ratio of calls relative to caseload has fallen from 1.8 calls relative to caseload in September 2016 to 1.3 calls per case in October 2017. That reflects our success in encouraging claimants to deal with us on-line. The numbers of calls abandoned reflects that also claimants call and realise, through our messaging that they can deal with their enquiry on-line and do not need to continue with their call.

Universal Credit: Carers

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many responsible carers by number and age of children have been sanctioned under universal credit in the last four quarters.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Social Fund: Credit

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much interest free credit in real terms was provided through the Discretionary Social Fund in each of the last seven years.

Caroline Dinenage: Interest free credit is provided through the Discretionary Social Fund with Budgeting Loans and Crisis Loans. The provision of interest free credit through the Discretionary Social Fund is published in the annual Social Fund Account in nominal terms. These figures have been adjusted to real terms in 2016/17 prices and are outlined in the table below. YearProvision of interest free credit through the Discretionary Social Fund - £m (2016/17 prices)2010/116502011/126452012/135992013/144382014/154282015/164142016/17412 Notes: Figures are rounded to the nearest £1m.Figures are adjusted to real terms using GDP deflators.Figures consist of expenditure on Crisis Loans and Budgeting Loans.Crisis Loans were abolished with effect from 31/3/13. There have been no new Crisis Loan payments since then. The provision of interest free credit through Crisis Loans since their abolition represents a net transfer of customer debt from Northern Ireland where customers have moved between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. DWP manage the recovery of the transferred debt.Community Care Grant expenditure, although part of the Discretionary Social Fund until their abolition in April 2013, is not included as they were non-repayable grants.Funeral Expense Payments are provided as interest free credit, but are not included in the figures as they are part of the Regulatory Social Fund. Sources: Social Fund Accounts, 2010/11 – 2016/17GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP November 2017 (Autumn Budget 2017)The links to the annual Social Fund Account for each of the last seven years are given below. 2010/11:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/247280/1307.pdf 2011/12:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246945/0454.pdf 2012/13:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209380/SFWPA_2012-13.pdf 2013/14:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/450047/social-fund-account-2013-to-2014.pdf 2014/15:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/450036/social-fund-account-2014-to-2015.pdf 2015/16:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/535981/social-fund-account-2015-16.pdf 2016/17:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/626607/social-fund-account-2016-2017.pdf

Universal Credit

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the General Data Protection Regulation,  (EU) 2016/679, on the operation of the Universal Credit landlords' portal.

Damian Hinds: The Landlord Portal for Social Rental Sector landlords in Universal Credit is a fully integrated element of the Universal Credit Service and is therefore within the scope of the service's General Data Protection Regulation assessment. The portal allows for interaction and processing with landlords that would otherwise be done by emails and phone calls, and so does not specially change the personal information being handled, but rather is a more effective and efficient way of managing those processes.

Department for Work and Pensions: Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of his Department's Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions have advised that the requested information was not available on the grounds of disproportionate cost associated with data collection and collation in the current session.

Damian Hinds: At the time of writing, the Department for Work and Pensions has answered 135 written parliamentary questions explaining that the requested information was not available (including questions with partial refusal) on the grounds of disproportionate cost in the current session. This is out of a total of 1787 parliamentary questions that have been answered.

Universal Credit

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure universal credit claimants can save their online claim forms throughout the process of completing the form.

Damian Hinds: Claims made on-line do not need to be saved separately when gathering information. In Universal Credit full service the claim is made using the claimants account where the ‘save and return’ functionality is available. This has all the security features necessary to safeguard the claimant’s data by confirming the identity of the returning user.

Department for Work and Pensions: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2017 to Question HL3576, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen families.

Caroline Dinenage: Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families announced our commitment to tackle the damaging levels of parental conflict in workless families. This in response to recent evidence which shows that children exposed to frequent, intense and poorly resolved conflict can suffer a decline in their mental health and experience poorer long term outcomes. Our new Reducing Parental Conflict Programme will provide workless families in a number of local areas across England with face-to-face, evidence based interventions to reduce parental conflict. This provision will be available to workless parents, whether they are together or separated, as when it comes to the critical issue of improving children’s outcomes, the evidence shows that the quality of relationships within a family are more important than family structure. Alongside these face-to-face interventions, we will be working closely with local authorities to raise awareness of the negative impacts of parental conflict on children and families, and to help them embed proven parental conflict support into existing services for families.

Department for Work and Pensions: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to which legislation his Department has applied the Family Test, published in August 2014.

Caroline Dinenage: The government is committed to supporting families. To achieve this, in 2014 we introduced the Family Test, which aims to ensure that impacts on family relationships and functioning are recognised early on during the process of policy development and help inform the policy decisions made by Minsters. The Family Test was not designed to be a ‘tick-box’ exercise, and as such there is no requirement for departments to publish the results of assessments made under the Family Test.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to investigate complaints his Department has received from women born in the 1950s and affected by changes in state pension age.

Damian Hinds: The Department has a two tier complaints process which considers formal complaints about our service. Complaints received from women born in the 1950s and affected by changes in State Pension age are handled in line with the overall Departmental complaints process.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what meetings his Department has held with women born on or after 6 April 1950 who are affected by changes to the state pension age in the 1995 and 2011 Pension Acts to discuss proposals for a non-means-tested solution for all women.

Guy Opperman: This matter has been comprehensively debated on many occasions in Parliament. The Government will not be making changes to its policy on state pension age for women born in the 1950s, in respect of the 1995, 2007 and 2011 Pension Acts. DWP Ministers have met with a number of constituents who have been affected by changes to the State Pension age. The Government does not intend to make further concessions in addition to those arrangements already made for women affected by the acceleration of increases in State Pension age that have already been made.

Department for Work and Pensions: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many data incidents his Department (a) recorded and (b) reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

Caroline Dinenage: DWP publishes details of data incidents and the number of cases recorded and reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, available on www.gov.uk. No incidents were reported in 2015/16 or 2016/17 (as recorded at pages 84 and 92 respectively of the Reports for those years).

Department for Work and Pensions: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times his Department's Senior Information Risk Officer role has been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department’s Senior Information Risk Owner role has been permanently filled since 2012 and has not been vacant for any period of time.

Occupational Pensions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the average monthly total amount per person, comprising employee employer and tax relief contributions, paid into pensions under the compulsory workplace pension scheme in 2017.

Guy Opperman: The Department does not centrally collate the data requested. However, the Department does publish annual workplace pension statistics for eligible employees, which includes data on annual amounts saved. The latest data available showed the average annual amount saved per eligible saver (those eligible employees saving into a workplace pension) in the private sector, in 2016, was £4,098. Our Automatic Enrolment Review 2017: Maintaining the Momentum was published on Monday 18 December, setting a clear direction to build a more robust and inclusive savings culture and specifically in supporting younger generations with the opportunity to save for a more secure retirement. Since 2012, over 9 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, although workers are free to opt-out within one month of being put into a workplace pension, and can cease saving at any time. By 2019/20 an estimated extra £20 billion a year will be saved into workplace pensions as a result of automatic enrolment.

Department for Work and Pensions: Families

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to which legislation his Department has applied the Family Test, published in August 2014.

Caroline Dinenage: The government is committed to supporting families. To achieve this, in 2014 we introduced the Family Test, which aims to ensure that impacts on family relationships and functioning are recognised early on during the process of policy development and help inform the policy decisions made by Minsters. The Family Test was not designed to be a ‘tick-box’ exercise, and as such there is no requirement for departments to publish the results of assessments made under the Family Test.

Personal Independence Payment: Epilepsy

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's publication Personal Independence Payment: DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes, October 2017, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of claimants with epilepsy that have seen awards (a) refused and (b) reduced during the transition from DLA to PIP; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reassessment outcome data between October 2016 and October 2017 demonstrates that there has been a decrease from 16% to 15% in the number of people previously in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), with a main disabling condition of epilepsy recorded on the DLA computer system, who have a lower award under PIP. There has been a decrease from 28% to 27% for the proportion of people who have a higher award under PIP. All other reassessment outcomes, including those disallowed, have remained the same proportionally.

Personal Independence Payment

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's publication ADM Memo 30/17, whether (a) all qualified PIP assessors and (b) other assessors are qualified to undertake a LEAP exercise review of a claimant's awards.

Sarah Newton: The Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice exercise review of claimants’ awards will not be carried out by external assessment providers, but by the Department’s decision makers alone. As this is a complex exercise, the decision makers are receiving further training to undertake the review.

Employment and Support Allowance: Maladministration

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2017 to Question 116610, whether his Department intends to pay to each claimant whose entitlements were miscalculated between 2011 and 2014 the full amount dating back to when the miscalculation was made.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2017 to Question 116610, whether his Department plans to pay to each claimant whose entitlements were miscalculated in those years the amount they have been underpaid since 21 October 2014.

Sarah Newton: The Department will be reviewing and paying arrears that are due to claimants affected. These payments will be paid from 21/10/2014 which is the Departments mandatory statutory requirement with regard to payment of arrears when a court or tribunal establishes the meaning of a legislative provision. Under this provision DWP will pay arrears from the date of the court or tribunal decision, which in this case is the 21/10/2014. The rule was most recently confirmed by Parliament in section 27 of the Social Security Act 1998, which received Royal Assent on 21 May 1998.

Jobcentres

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer on 3 July 2017 to Question 882, whether the reformed welfare contract piloted at Birkenhead Jobcentre Plus is now operational across the whole Jobcentre Plus network.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2017 to Question 882 on Benefit Rules, what recent representations has he received from the Jobcentre Plus network on the roll-out of the Reformed Welfare Contract piloted by Feeding Britain in Birkenhead Jobcentre Plus.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2017 to Question 882, on Benefit Rules, what recent discussions he has received from the Jobcentre Plus network on the roll-out of the reformed welfare contract piloted by Feeding Britain at Birkenhead Jobcentre Plus.

Damian Hinds: The initiative at Birkenhead Jobcentre brought together information from energy suppliers to help the vulnerable and those facing difficulties in meeting their energy costs. The initiative informed a DWP produced factsheet which covers saving money on household bills, advice for those struggling with debt and details about basic bank accounts. The factsheet also signposts to further sources of help and support through a range of websites including The Money Advice Service. The DWP factsheet is available to all Work Coaches across the Jobcentre Plus network. We are unable to confirm the numbers used or the number of claimants availing themselves of the support.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the change in the real terms value of the maximum amount of benefit entitlement as a result of inflation since the introduction of the benefit cap in November 2016.

Caroline Dinenage: The Work and Pensions Secretary of State has a duty to review the Lower Benefit Cap levels once in each Parliament with regard to the national economic situation and any other matters he considers relevant, as set out in the 2016 Welfare Reform and Work Act. New lower and tiered Benefit Cap rates were introduced from November 2016 prior to the election in June 2017. We intend to review the Lower Benefit Cap during this Parliament. For context, outside of London, around 4 in 10 households have net earnings less than the £20,000 cap level. In London around 4 in 10 households have net earnings of less than the £23,000 cap level.

Jobcentre Plus: Training

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to ensure staff at a JobCentre Plus are adequately trained in their duties to improve the level of claimant satisfaction rates.

Damian Hinds: The Department has effective processes to identify individual training needs, resulting in role specific learning, including the provision of excellent customer service. This is underpinned by workplace consolidation activities observed by managers, which supports individuals to continuously improve and develop their skills and knowledge.

Work Capability Assessment: Redcar

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of work capability assessment decisions overturned in Redcar in each of the last five years where figures are available; and what steps he is taking to improve the accuracy of benefit entitlement awards.

Sarah Newton: This information is not readily available at constituency level and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The Department is continually working to improve the accuracy of benefit entitlement awards. This includes working with Assessment Providers to ensure claimants receive high quality assessments and improving the way further evidence is collected to ensure all relevant information about an individual’s needs is available to decision makers at the earliest opportunity. Furthermore, the recruitment of approximately 150 Presenting Officers provides valuable insight into why decisions are overturned on appeal and is helping us identify improvements throughout the claimant journey.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Game: Animal Welfare

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of enforcement of the Code of Practice for the welfare of game birds, published by his Department in 2009.

George Eustice: The welfare of gamebirds is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their gamebirds, as required by the Act. The Act and Defra’s Code are enforced by the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

Waste Disposal: Licensing

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2017 to Question 115795, if he will provide a breakdown of breaches of permits in each of the Environment Agency’s 14 operational areas in each of the last five years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 12 December 2017.The correct answer should have been:

This table shows the breaches of waste sites for all 14 16 Environment Agency areas for the last 5 years. Some areas have many more permitted facilities than others and will consequently have more breaches. This table shows the total number of breaches.  Environment Agency Area20122013201420152016Cambs and Bedfordshire482597994735772Cumbria and Lancashire303490943691407Derbys Notts and Leics69911531084673591Devon and Cornwall5697421017761714Essex Norfolk and Suffolk6027811035846910Gtr Mancs Mersey and Ches848119217141051994Herts and North London1050116213911120636Kent and South London886116815381141935Lincs and Northants70910951093600446Northumberland Durham and Tees48271312631089821Shrops Heref Worcs and Glos299407600524432Solent and South Downs329395485372444Staffs Warks and West Mids11661720177313021088Wessex497887957703512West Thames726676795718601Yorkshire14591862226818911361Total1110615040189501421711664

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This table shows the breaches of waste sites for all 14 16 Environment Agency areas for the last 5 years. Some areas have many more permitted facilities than others and will consequently have more breaches. This table shows the total number of breaches.  Environment Agency Area20122013201420152016Cambs and Bedfordshire482597994735772Cumbria and Lancashire303490943691407Derbys Notts and Leics69911531084673591Devon and Cornwall5697421017761714Essex Norfolk and Suffolk6027811035846910Gtr Mancs Mersey and Ches848119217141051994Herts and North London1050116213911120636Kent and South London886116815381141935Lincs and Northants70910951093600446Northumberland Durham and Tees48271312631089821Shrops Heref Worcs and Glos299407600524432Solent and South Downs329395485372444Staffs Warks and West Mids11661720177313021088Wessex497887957703512West Thames726676795718601Yorkshire14591862226818911361Total1110615040189501421711664

Greyhounds: Animal Welfare

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) by what date he expects the Greyhound Board of Great Britain to begin publishing aggregate injury and euthanasia figures and (b) what period that data will cover.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) by what date he expects the Greyhound Board of Great Britain to begin publishing summary statistics for the number of dogs that leave the industry each year and (b) what details those statistics will include.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by what criteria requests for access to anonymised track injury and euthanasia data for research purposes will be assessed.

George Eustice: As set out during Defra’s Post Implementation Review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010, the Government expects the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) to begin publishing from early next year annual aggregate injury and euthanasia statistics from GBGB tracks, and annual summary statistics for the number of GBGB registered greyhounds that leave the sport. The figures will cover the preceding calendar year and, for dogs that leave the sport each year, the details will include by what method. The GBGB will begin publishing both sets of figures by the end of March 2018. Access to anonymized track injury and euthanasia data will be considered by GBGB’s Welfare Standing Committee and Defra for bona fide research purposes.

Greyhounds: Animal Welfare

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects the Greyhound Board of Great Britain to fulfil its agreement to develop a Publicly Available Specification for trainers’ kennels and to extend its UK Accreditation Service to include the enforcement of those new standards.

George Eustice: A Publicly Available Specification (PAS) for greyhound trainers’ residential kennels was published by the British Standards Institution on 12 December 2017. The PAS has been sponsored by the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) and has been drafted with input from animal welfare groups, veterinarians, the industry and Defra. GBGB are currently beginning the process of extending their current UK Accreditation Service accreditation to include enforcement of the standards contained in the PAS. This process can take between 12 to 18 months.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve the delivery of Rural Payments Agency payments to farmers.

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress he has made in simplifying the basic payment scheme of the Rural Payments Agency.

George Eustice: The current CAP is bureaucratic and ineffective. The unnecessary reporting and mapping requirements imposed by the European Commission hampers the effective delivery of the Basic Payment Scheme. The government therefore believes that the best way to improve agricultural policy is to leave the European Union and establish a coherent, domestic policy instead. However, in the short term, we are working to make the best of the failed CAP and performance was far better in 2016 than in 2015. EU law means that the scope for simplifying the existing BPS scheme is limited.

Agriculture: Floods

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has received any representations from farmers on the use of their land without permission to store flood water.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Secretary of State has not received any representations from farmers regarding using their land without permission to store flood water.

Animals: Exports

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on animal and animal products export licences.

George Eustice: Supporting UK businesses to export more is a top priority for the Government. Exports of animal products from the UK to 3rd Countries are subject to the need for an Export Health Certificate (EHC) which provides assurances that the consignment complies with the importing country’s requirements. We will continue to agree bilateral arrangements with 3rd countries and issue appropriate EHCs. The Government is negotiating our exit from the EU. Defra is working with the Department for Exiting the European Union to look at future arrangements, including for the UK’s system for the management of agri-food imports and exports with EU countries.

Animals: Injuries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of incidents of attacks by (a) non-insect wildlife and (b) insect swarms on humans in each of the last five years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra does not hold information on the number of incidents of attacks by either non-insect wildlife or insect swarms on humans.

Animal and Plant Health Agency: Fees and Charges

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much has been collected in fees by the Animal and Plant Health Agency under the Bovine Semen (England) Regulations 2007(as amended) in (a) 2014, (b) 2015 and (c) 2016.

George Eustice: The fees collected by the Animal and Plant Health Agency under the Bovine Semen (England) Regulations 2007(as amended) in the financial years (a) 2014, (b) 2015 and (c) 2016 are as follows:-  YearFees14/15£92,60815/16£98,75616/17£58,263

Water Voles: Conservation

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to protect water voles since June 2015.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Wildlife protection is a devolved matter. In accordance with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) the water vole and its habitat receives full protection in England and Wales. The species has been identified as one of principal importance for the conservation of biodiversity in England. Water voles and other protected species benefit from a range of initiatives including Defra’s agri-environment schemes, river and wetland restoration projects and water quality improvements. The Environment Agency has created nearly 5,000 hectares of wetland and river habitats in the last 10 years and is working in partnership with the Wildlife Trusts to improve and protect over 15,000 km of rivers, lakes and coastal waters, creating healthy riverside habitats benefiting animals such as water voles. Agri-environment schemes such as Countryside Stewardship provide suitable habitat for wildlife including water voles and other small mammals. Scheme options that benefit water voles include buffer strips alongside ponds, ditches, and other watercourses and fencing alongside watercourses to protect bankside vegetation. Long-term strategic conservation work includes re-introduction schemes such as a recent scheme in Hertfordshire, combined with mink management projects (such as the Norfolk Mink Project) and habitat management. In addition the National Water Vole Monitoring Programme, launched by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species in collaboration with the UK Water Vole Steering Group (The Wildlife Trusts, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage, Environment Agency, Natural England and RSPB), aims to bring together all surveying work that is being carried out across the country, as well as monitor selected historical sites, to establish any changes in the water vole population and to help guide future conservation efforts.

Forests

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the value of England's forests.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: No specific assessment has been taken on how the value of England’s forest will be affected when the UK leaves the EU.

Ground Water: Sussex

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many groundwater activity permits have been issued in (a) Mid Sussex constituency and (b) West Sussex in each of the last five years.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency has issued the following number of groundwater activity permits in each of the last five years in (a) Mid Sussex constituency and (b) West Sussex:  YearMid Sussex constituencyWest Sussex2013022014052015042016012017 (year to date)19

Recycling

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to increase the amount of recycling bins available in public places.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Local authorities are responsible for waste management arrangements at a local level, including the number and location of recycling bins in public places. As set out in the Government’s Litter Strategy, we want to support people being able to recycle more and to encourage people to recycle ‘on the go’. Standard litter bins often do not provide people with the opportunity to separate different types of waste materials for recycling, something which is easy to do and already done by many at home as part of their local kerbside recycling service. The Waste and Resources Action Programme has produced a guide which provides key information on the options for, and benefits of, introducing recycling ‘on the go’ facilities. Its principal aims are to aid and inform decision making, and to highlight the options for introducing new recycling ‘on the go’ facilities or enhancing existing ones. Additionally, the Litter Strategy sets out how we shall produce new guidance on bin infrastructure, looking at the design, number and location of public litter bins and other items of street furniture designed to capture litter.

Air Pollution

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report of the Air Quality Expert Group, Particulate Matter in the United Kingdom whether he has plans to (a) set a limit on the emission of fine particulates and (b) require them to be monitored.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) have reduced by 8% since 2005 when this Air Quality Expert Group report was published and 47% since 1990. This is in part due to emissions limits placed on key polluting activities and fuels. The Government is firmly committed to improving the UK’s air quality and cutting harmful emissions and has signed up to further ambitious emissions reduction targets for 2020 and 2030. This will require additional action beyond what has already been achieved and to that end, as a first step, we are supporting the Ready to Burn initiative to reduce emissions from our biggest primary source, domestic wood burning. Monitoring is important to ensure emissions limits are adhered to as well as ensuring suitable environmental performance of, for example, appliances and fuels. Monitoring is also used (alongside modelling) to assess the ambient concentrations of PM2.5 in the UK. We have a network comprising 163 monitoring sites providing near-real-time data to our UK air website https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/; of these 77 monitor PM2.5.

Waste Management

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the study, From Waste to Resource Productivity.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government Office for Science published the report “From Waste to Resource Productivity” authored by the former Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Mark Walport, and co-authored by Professor Ian Boyd, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 14 December 2017. It can be accessed online on GOV.UK.

Fly-tipping

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on wildlife or husbanded animals of fly tipping?

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra has not made a specific assessment of the effect of fly-tipping on wildlife and husbanded animals. The Government is committed to tackling the impact of fly-tipping on wildlife, farmland and local communities.

Microplastics

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will ensure that the upcoming ban on micro-beads will include all products containing such materials.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The microbead ban will prevent the manufacture and sale of all rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads. We are aware microbeads enter the marine environment from other sources, so we have engaged the Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee to review evidence on microplastics in other products and their chances of reaching our seas and causing harm to marine life. This will inform future policy making.

Agriculture: Devolution

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he will be taking to align the devolved administrations' agri-food production targets and enforcement of nitrates water quality standards with each other and those of the Westminster Government, after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: Agri-food policy and the enforcement of nitrates water quality standards are devolved matters where decision making rests with each of the devolved administrations (DAs). Outside the Common Agricultural Policy, we can develop policies that enhance the environment, support innovation and improve agricultural productivity. The Government set out plans to consult on a new, independent body to regulate environment policy and hold us to account on environmental commitments once the UK has left the EU. One of the key questions which we will explore with the DAs is whether Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland wish to take a different or similar approach. We have committed to work closely with the DAs and the Secretary of State holds regular meetings with DA Ministers to discuss the issues around leaving the EU. Defra also has strong working relationships at official level with each of the DAs where the need for common frameworks is scrutinised. This is in addition to the business as usual engagement taking place between Defra and DAs across a broad range of policy and operational issues.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Redundancy

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2017 to Question 115825, how many staff are expected to leave the Department as part of Voluntary Exit Schemes in the next two financial years; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: Defra’s plans for exiting staff under Voluntary Exit Schemes in the next two financial years have not yet been confirmed. As the Department increases its resources in response to the UK’s departure from the EU, we will aim to redeploy people into that work where they have the skills and capability to do so, rather than offering them Voluntary Exit. We continue to keep our resourcing plans under review to ensure that we can realise efficiency savings as we transform the Department.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times his Department's Senior Information Risk Officer roles been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.

George Eustice: The department has had no recorded gaps between the appointments of the 3 SIRO’s that have held the post since 2012.

Fisheries

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Fisheries Bill will be published; for what reasons it will not be published by the end of the year; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government set out an ambitious legislative programme in the Queen's speech in June. The timescales for the Fisheries Bill will be announced in the usual manner in due course.

Agriculture: Cooperatives

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take further to support agricultural cooperatives; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: Cooperation is a powerful way for farmers and growers to improve their negotiating power, share machinery, labour, storage and other resources, and access knowledge and skills from others. We meet regularly with Cooperatives UK to discuss the potential for further collaboration in the agricultural sector, and we have backed the formation of formal Producer Organisations (POs). Changes to EU agricultural rules as a result of the ‘Omnibus’ regulation will strengthen the rights of POs and encourage large scale collaboration in all sectors.

Pesticides

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will include in its 25-year plan for the environment an objective to reduce the UK’s use of pesticides.

George Eustice: The Government will publish the 25 Year Environment Plan soon which will set out our plans to improve the environment, including action on pesticides.

Home Office

Home Office: Legal Costs

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) proportion and (b) total amount of special grants were allocated by her Department to cover legal fees in each financial year since 2012-13.

Mr Nick Hurd: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is because each of the special grant applications since 2012/13 would need to be reviewed by officials to check if any of the costs relate to legal costs. I would be happy to meet with the Hon. Member to discuss Special Grants and the process of assessment and consideration of these applications.

Forensic Science

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 November 2017, HCWS265, on toxicology, whether (a) Randox Testing Services and (b) Trimega were purchased outside of the National Forensics Framework.

Mr Nick Hurd: There have been two National Forensics Frameworks. One let in July 2008 by the National Policing Improvement Agency, known as the National Forensic Framework Agreement (NFFA), which ran between July 2008 and July 2012; and a replacement Framework let by the Home Office known as the National Forensic Framework Next Generation (NFFNG), which ran between 31 July 2012 and 30th July 2016. Both Frameworks were open to all police forces in England and Wales for the procurement of forensic analysis services. Randox Testing Services (RTS) were one of the forensic service providers on both frameworks. Police forces undertake the purchase of forensic analysis services themselves and may hold information on purchases with RTS.Trimega were not party to either Framework. We can find no record of Trimega applying for either the NFFA or the NFFNG. I understand that Trimega worked in the family law sector rather than the criminal justice sector.

Migrant Workers: EU Nationals

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to implement a communications campaign to make it clear to EU workers in the UK that they will be able to obtain settled status.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office is already communicating about the settled status scheme for EU citizens and their families through the media, digital channels and with stakeholders, including businesses and EU citizens’ representatives. Communication activity will increase next year towards the launch of the scheme in late 2018, and throughout the two-year ‘grace period’ for EU citizens and their family members to obtain settled status.

Money Laundering

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action she is taking to increase the number of suspicious activity reports filed from Trust and Companies Service Providers?

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office is leading the process of reforming the SARs regime in partnership with the National Crime Agency, wider law enforcement, Government and the reporting sectors. This reform programme will drive up engagement with the reporting sectors, including Trust or Company Service Providers, to improve SAR reporting.

EU Nationals: Skilled Workers

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to link the issue of future visas to workers from the EU to specific evidence about skills gaps in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: There are a range of options for the future immigration system and it is important that we understand the impacts on the different sectors of the economy and the labour market. We will ensure that decisions on the long-term system are based on evidence.On 27 July, the Government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy. The MAC will advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. It will report in September 2018 and its findings will help shape the government’s decisions on the future immigration system.The Government also regularly engages with sectoral bodies to ensure our immigration routes work effectively to enable businesses to access the talent they need. Their contributions do, and will continue to, inform our decisions on any changes to the system.

Members: Correspondence

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply my urgent correspondence of 1 December 2017 on my constituent Mr Levi Maynard, case id: 022516142.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office MP Account Management Team replied to the email from the Hon Member about Mr Maynard on 14 December.

Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a maximum time limit of eight days for the registration of deaths in England.

Brandon Lewis: Section 16(3) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 requires deaths to be registered by a qualified informant within five days for England and Wales. There are no current plans to amend this legislation.

Immigration: Applications

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect on low income applicants of increases in the cost of applications for leave to remain.

Brandon Lewis: An impact assessment was completed in early 2016 which considered the changes being made as part of the Immigration and Nationality Fees Order (2016), the details of which can be found via the following link:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2016/33/pdfs/ukia_20160033_en.pdf

Aviation: Foreign Students

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that foreign students who come to the UK to study pilot training can continue to do so after the UK has left the EU.

Brandon Lewis: As we prepare to leave the EU, we will build a comprehensive picture of the needs and interests of all parts of the UK, including different sectors, businesses and communities, and look to develop a system that works for all.We have commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to gather evidence and assess the economic and social impact of EU citizens in all parts of the UK. This will help us to design a new immigration system that works in the national interest.

Visas

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer 12 October 2017 to Question 105497 on Visas, how many non-straightforward applications received under each immigration route that were not withdrawn, voided, rejected or discontinued, took longer than four weeks to be determined; what the average waiting time was for such applications; and if she will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: The specific data requested is not published by the Home Office.The available information relating to performance against service standards and processing of cases is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-dataThe Secretary of State currently has no plans to make a statement on this subject.

Deportation: EU Nationals

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-UK EU citizens have been deported to their home country in each of the last 10 years.

Brandon Lewis: The number of enforced returns by country of nationality is published in table rt_04 (Volume 3 - Returns data tables where returns are broken down by country of nationality and the destination to which an individual is returned to) in ‘Immigration Statistics, July - September 2017’, available from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662533/returns3-jul-sep-2017-tables.odsThe term 'deportations' refers to a legal definition of a specific set of returns. Deportations are a specific subset of returns which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. The deportation order prohibits the person returning to the UK until such time as it may be revoked. Published information on those deported is not separately available. As such, the question has been interpreted as referring to enforced returns. In an enforced return, it has been established that a person has breached UK immigration laws and / or has no valid leave to remain in the UK. They have declined to leave voluntarily and the Home Office enforces their departure from the UK.

Immigration Controls: Palestinians

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Palestinians living in Israel and Palestine have been refused entry to the UK in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office does not hold the informaiton in the format requested.

Immigration Controls: Israel

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Israeli citizens have been refused entry to the UK in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: This information can be found on the attached link which is published on www.gov.ukhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017/list-of-tables#admissions.

Human Trafficking: Migrant Workers

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's procedures for identifying the exploitation and human trafficking of undocumented non-EEA nationals working in the UK fishing industry; and if she will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: The Government has introduced mandatory training for Border Force and UKVI staff to identify at risk seafarers from outside the EEA who enter the UK in order to join a vessel departing from a UK port. They are advised of their rights before they board vessels and any suspicious circumstances in relation to vessels and contracts are investigated further.The Government also introduced specific maritime provisions in the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to provide powers to law enforcement agencies to tackle suspected slavery at sea and have provided significant additional funding to the police to improve the wider operational response to modern slavery. This funding includes provision for a dedicated ports and transport officer to provide tactical advice on all aspects of slavery and exploitation occurring in the maritime arena.We keep the effectiveness of these measures under review, and will consider whether checks on those coming to join UK-based fishing vessels should be adjusted to reflect the ILO Work in Fishing Convention 2007 (ILO 188) which sets out minimum living and working conditions for fishermen.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Crimes against Property

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of theft and fraud to the public purse in each of the last ten years.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office keeps the risk of theft and fraud under constant review and is subject to regular audit by the National Audit Office. There have been no confirmed cases of fraud in the Scotland Office in each of the last ten years. In each of the last ten years there were no computers or other items of IT equipment reported as stolen from the Scotland Office. In 2011-12, one BlackBerry was reported stolen, in 2012-13 one Blackberry was reported stolen and in 2014/15 one Blackberry was reported stolen. The total cost to replace stolen Blackberry devices was £300.00.

Scotland Office: Official Hospitality

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2017 to Question 118330 on Scotland Office: official hospitality, what the events spend of his Department was in 2016-17

David Mundell: The total Scotland Office spend on events in 2016/17 amounts to £61,188.38.

HM Treasury

Debts

Jim Shannon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to assist people with household debt.

Stephen Barclay: The Government established the Money Advice Service, which spent just under £49m last year to provide over 440,000 free-to-user debt advice sessions. And we are now creating a Single Financial Guidance Body to ensure consumers get better money and pensions guidance, and debt advice. The Government is also committed to establishing a six-week breathing space scheme. It published a Call for Evidence on the scheme in October. An amendment to the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill gives the Government the ability to implement the scheme, after receiving advice on aspects of the scheme from the Single Financial Guidance Body.

Crown Estate Commissioners: Assets

Deidre Brock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the value of the assets of the Crown Estate.

Andrew Jones: In accordance with The Crown Estate Act 1961, The Crown Estate is a body independent of government and the Monarch. The Crown Estate operates commercially at arm’s length from the Treasury. The Chancellor has therefore not made an estimate of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the value of The Crown Estate’s assets.

Cryptocurrencies

Eddie Hughes: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what holdings of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies are held by the Government.

Andrew Jones: HM Treasury does not have any holdings of Bitcoin or other crypto-currencies. HM Treasury and the Bank of England publish details of the UK’s current international reserves, including foreign currency assets, on a monthly basis.

Cryptocurrencies

Eddie Hughes: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has been made of the risks to the UK economy of the potential failure of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies.

Stephen Barclay: The independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC), established by the Government, aims to ensure the UK financial system is resilient to, and prepared for, the wide range of risks it could face — so that the system could support the real economy, even in difficult conditions. The Bank of England continues to monitor developments, and provided its latest assessment of the risks to financial stability in the Financial Stability Report, published in November 2017. In addition, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has stated that it will continue to monitor distributed ledger technology (DLT)-related market developments, working collaboratively with industry, HM Treasury, the Bank of England, the Information Commissioner’s Office, and other UK bodies to ensure a coordinated approach towards DLT in the UK.

Cryptocurrencies

Eddie Hughes: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has been made of the value to the UK economy of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Eddie Hughes: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies in the UK.

Stephen Barclay: The government has not made any formal assessment of the value to the UK of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. The government is currently negotiating amendments to the European Anti-Money Laundering Directive which will extend regulation to virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers. These amendments will enable competent authorities to ensure these firms are mitigating the risks regarding money laundering and terrorist financing, and enable the legitimate sector to grow. We expect these negotiations to conclude at EU level by early 2018, with a year for Member States to then implement the Directive.

Economic Situation

Caroline Lucas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his evidence before the Exiting the European Union Committee of 6 December 2017, whether the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast of the economic effect of withdrawal from the EU held by HM Treasury has been published or is otherwise in the public domain; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: As the Office for Budget Responsibility stated in its November 2017 Economic and Fiscal Outlook[1], they have not yet made specific assumptions on the economic effect on the UK of Exiting the EU. [1] http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/Nov2017EFOwebversion-2.pdf

Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts

Fiona Bruce: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by what date HM Revenue & Customs will have concluded its consideration of the comments dated 30 October 2017 made to it by the Roadchef Employee Benefit Trust's (EBT) representatives on the treatment and tax implications of the Roadchef EBT.

Mel Stride: The administration of the tax system, including where appropriate the repayment of tax or duties, is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs. It would not be appropriate for Treasury Ministers to become involved in specific cases.

Valuation Office Agency

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2017 to Question 112988, how the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) makes its business decisions on the relative efficiency of each office in the absence of management information on the number of cases processed at each location; how VOA units manage their work in the absence of such information; and how decisions were made as to which offices to close.

Stephen Barclay: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) works on a holistic business model. Operational work is dealt with by the most appropriate team across the network of offices. For example, a case involving a property in one part of the country could be primarily handled in another part. This allows for flexible use of resources to handle peaks in workload. As such, the VOA measures performance on an organisation-wide basis, not on an office-by-office basis. Performance is measured in terms of volumes, timeliness, and quality in business areas (such as ‘council tax’ or ‘non-domestic rating’). The VOA's estates strategy is about transforming the way it uses offices to support more efficient ways of working, balancing affordability and geographic coverage. The VOA has used the following criteria to help determine long-term locations: affordability (e.g. overall running costs); working style, as customers interact with the VOA in different ways; office space utilisation; physical location (to maintain appropriate market knowledge); and aligning with HMRC / Government Property Unit standards for desks and office floorspace per FTE.

Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges

Ged Killen: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Bank of England and (b) the Financial Conduct Authority about introducing powers to prevent the development of areas where there are no free-to-use ATMs.

Ged Killen: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of relative poverty of areas where ATMs which are not free to use are located.

Ged Killen: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Bank of England and (b) the Financial Conduct Authority about imposing a maximum cap on charges to customers using ATMs.

Stephen Barclay: The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK, and will continue to work with industry to ensure continued free access to cash. Since 1998, the number of free to use ATMs has more than doubled, from 24,600 to over 53,000.Government has not made an assessment of the relative poverty of areas where there are no free to use ATMs. However LINK, the organisation behind the ATM network in the UK, carries out an assessment of areas where there are no free to use ATMs as part of the financial inclusion programme it runs, in collaboration with Toynbee Hall, to ensure the provision of ATMs in areas of deprivation, where demand would not otherwise make one viable. LINK is intending to strengthen its financial inclusion programme even further to ensure that the need for ATMs continue to be met.HM Treasury has not had discussions with the Bank of England or the Financial Conduct Authority about imposing a cap on charges to customers for ATMs which are not free to use or introducing powers to prevent the development of areas where there are no free-to-use ATMs. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is monitoring developments within ATM provision, and is conducting ongoing internal work on the impact that changes to interchange fees may have. The Government set the PSR up in 2015 with the statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users. Government is confident that the PSR will use its powers to act should any of the firms it regulates behave in a way that conflicts with its statutory objectives.

Emergency Services: Scotland

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 115293 on 29 November 2017, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer last met the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115300, when he last met the hon. Member for Ochil and South Perthshire to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 115291 of 29 November 2017, when he last met the hon. Member for Aberdeen South to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115296, when he last met the hon. Member for Gordon to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115297, when he last met the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115299, when he last met the hon. Member for Stirling to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115298, when he last met the hon. Member for Angus to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 115301 on 29 November 2017, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer last met the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 115295 on 29 November 2017, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer last met the hon. Member for Gordon to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 115294 on 29 November 2017, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer last met the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 115290 on 29 November 2017, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer last met the hon. Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 115294 on 29 November 2017, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer last met the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan to discuss a VAT exemption for police and fire services in Scotland.

Mel Stride: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 29 November 2017 (UIN 115291).

Valuation Office Agency: Forms

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how continuous improvement forms filled out by Valuation Office Agency staff at the end of each day are processed and assessed; and how information drawn from continuous improvement forms is stored.

Mel Stride: Continuous Improvement is part of the VOA’s ongoing commitment to changing and improving the way it works, particularly in relation to customer facing business areas. Continuous Improvement forms are used on a daily basis by VOA staff to record the details of their working day. The information collected on individual continuous improvement forms is aggregated through the VOA’s digital system. The aggregated information is used to establish the productivity of teams and processes and with the management of workloads and allocation of resources. The information is stored on an internal server which is security accredited. Data is stored for up to five years after which time it is deleted.

Valuation Office Agency: Email and Telephone Services

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what systems are used to monitor the number of (a) inbound telephone calls and (b) e-mails in each Valuation Office Agency office; and how the data on (i) inbound telephone calls and (ii) e-mails are collated.

Mel Stride: Individual Valuation Office Agency (VOA) offices do not have dedicated telephone numbers or email addresses. Customer phone calls may be made to the VOA general enquiries phone number. Information on the number of incoming calls is monitored and collated using the VOA’s Customer Service Centre telephony system. Customers may email the Regional Unit’s dedicated email addresses. Those emails are registered on the VOA’s Customer Contact Log system and are dealt with by the appropriate team for the enquiry, and depending on capacity and the type of enquiry. A smaller number of customers may also call and email individuals or specific business areas directly. The work that results from these is recorded in our work management systems and goes on to be dealt with by the appropriate team, and where capacity exists.

Valuation Office Agency: Staff

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) permanent employees and (b) temporary staff were employed at each Valuation Office Agency branch in each of the last seven years.

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Valuation Office Agency branches have closed in the last five years; how many employees each branch that closed in the last five years had at the time of closure; and which branches are planned to close in the next five years.

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Valuation Offices (a) have been earmarked for closure and (b) have closed in each of the last seven years; and which Valuation Offices were operational for each of those years.

Mel Stride: Information on the number of permanent and temporary Valuation Office Agency (VOA) staff at each office, previous office closures, and relative staff numbers for each closing office together with details of the remaining open offices following each office closure can be found in the attached document.For information on VOA offices due to close within the next five to seven years, I refer the honourable member to the supplementary information provided to the House of Commons Library for Parliamentary Questions UIN 117327: VOA Closures and UIN 117328: VOA Staff. The VOA's estates programme is transforming the way it uses its offices to support new and more efficient ways of working. It balances affordability and geographic coverage. By consolidating into a smaller number of higher-quality buildings, the VOA will be able to support its staff in adapting to a more flexible way of working, delivering services to its customers in a more cost-effective and sustainable way. As the VOA reduces its office space, it will take every practical step to avoid compulsory job losses as a result of any future location changes. The VOA will seek, where possible, to retain staff and their skills. Where it is not possible for staff to continue to work for the VOA, it will support them in seeking alternative employment in the civil service or elsewhere.



VOA staff numbers and office closures 
(Word Document, 50.1 KB)

Valuation Office Agency: Welsh Language

Chris Ruane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many dedicated Welsh speakers were employed at each Valuation Office in each of the last seven years?

Mel Stride: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) currently employs eleven people in customer-facing roles that requires them to be fluent in Welsh. There are two employees based in Rhyl, seven employees based in Bangor, one employee based in Carmarthen and one employee based in Cardiff. The VOA does not hold the equivalent historical information. The VOA understands the importance of, and is committed to, fulfilling its obligation to provide a service in Welsh and will be working with HMRC to ensure this continues. The VOA also employs Welsh speakers in non-customer facing roles and roles that do not require them to speak Welsh.

Financial Services: ICT

Scott Mann: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of block chain technology on the financial services industry.

Stephen Barclay: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is continuing to examine the implications of blockchain technology through its Regulatory Sandbox. In addition, the FCA issued a discussion paper to gauge industry’s views on the potential for future development of blockchain, which closed in July.

Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Members' Staff

Simon Hart: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, whether the Committee has had sight of the legal advice received by IPSA on connected parties; and if he will place a copy of that advice in the Library.

Mr Charles Walker: Holding answer received on 18 December 2017



The Speaker’s Committee has not received any legal advice on connected parties.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Managing Government Suppliers, HC 811 of Session 2013-14, published on 11 November 2013, how many strategic suppliers to the Government have been rated as (a) green, (b) amber, (c) red and (d) black in each year for which information is available.

Caroline Nokes: The Government's policy relating to the risk-assessment of Strategic Suppliers is set out in the publicly available Strategic Supplier Risk Management Policy:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/80222/20121108_Strategic_Supplier_Risk_Management_Policy.pdf. Cabinet Office does not publish supplier designations under the policy as "high risk" or risk ratings used to proactively monitor and manage Strategic Suppliers in a manner consistent with the policy, as disclosure of this information would prejudice commercial interests.

Government Departments: Procurement

Bill Esterson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises suppliers were paid within 30 days of invoice date by prime contractors to Government departments in the last 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: Holding answer received on 23 November 2017



Through the Public Contract Regulations 2015, public sector buyers must include 30-day payment terms in new public sector contracts; and require that this payment term be passed down the supply chain. Public sector buyers must also publish annually on their payment performance. Information on prompt payment by prime contractors is not held centrally. However, between 1 November 2016 and 31 October 2017, seven cases of late payment in the supply chain were referred to our Mystery Shopper Service.

Public Sector: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the risk of a strategic supplier to the Government folding on the (a) the operation of public services and (b) value for money.

Caroline Nokes: We recognise the importance of managing relationships with Strategic Suppliers, including any risks to the operation of public services and the achievement value for money. Our Strategic Supplier Risk Management Policy has been published on GOV.UK:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/80222/20121108_Strategic_Supplier_Risk_Management_Policy.pdf

Cabinet Office: Assets

Deidre Brock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the value of the assets for which his Department is responsible.

Caroline Nokes: The assets for which Cabinet Office is responsible comprise mainly office accommodation, IT and investments in associates. At this stage. we do not believe the values of these assets will be significantly affected by the UK’s departure from the EU.

Elections

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant the Answer of 4 September 2017 to Question 7725 on Elections, when he plans to respond to the Law Commission's 2016 report; and what the reason is for the time taken to publish that response.

Chris Skidmore: We are working with the Law Commissions on how best to implement the recommendations of their review of electoral law.We have agreed with the Law Commissions and key electoral stakeholders possible means of effecting reform through the drafting of secondary legislation. Work is underway on this by the Law Commissions, who will be supported by Cabinet Office and the Electoral Commission.

Elections: Disability

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will undertake a consultation on trends in levels of (a) registration and (b) participation in elections of disabled people.

Chris Skidmore: The Government is currently in the process of analysing responses to the recent Call for Evidence on the accessibility of elections which sought opinion on the experiences of disabled people in registering to vote and voting at elections. A report of key findings and recommendations will be produced in partnership with the Cabinet Office chaired Accessibility of Elections Working Group to be published in spring 2018.

Care Quality Commission

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussion she has had with the representatives of the Care Quality Commission on the inclusion of democratic participation in the Commission's assessment framework.

Chris Skidmore: The Cabinet Office is looking to resource work in 2018 with the care community, including the Care Quality Commission, to build a deeper understanding of the barriers to democratic engagement faced by people living in care homes.

Ballot Papers: Learning Disability

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of (a) the introduction of easy-read ballot papers with images of candidates and (b) making available ballot papers prior to the day for people with a learning disability.

Chris Skidmore: The Government is currently in the process of analysing responses to the recent Call for Evidence on the accessibility of elections. A report of key findings and recommendations will be produced in partnership with the Cabinet Office chaired Accessibility of Elections Working Group which includes organisations that represent people with mental health and learning disabilities such as the Royal Mencap Society, and will be published in spring 2018.

Elections: Disability

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to ensure that people on a disability register can be contacted by electoral administrators in advance of an election to check that (a) they are registered to vote and (b) that adequate support is available to ensure they can exercise their right to vote.

Chris Skidmore: Following my recommendation a change was made to the Certificate of Visual Impairment in England by the Department of Health to allow local authorities to contact those on sight registers to ask if support could be given to assist them to participate in electoral events, facilitated through an amendment to care and support statutory guidance.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Richard Burgon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many days the Grenfell Inquiry has sat as at 11 December 2017.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the date on which phase 1 of the Grenfell Inquiry will be published.

Caroline Nokes: The Inquiry timetable and the working hours of the team are matters for the Chairman of the independent Inquiry. At the Inquiry's procedural hearing on 11 and 12 December the Inquiry Counsel gave an update on the work of the Inquiry so far. He confirmed that the Inquiry has to date received 231,000 documents from 33 document providers. They expect to receive a further 40,000 documents. They are reviewing these documents at a rate of 12,000 per week, which the Inquiry expects to rise to 20,000 in January as the reviewing team expands. They have received 554 applications for core participant (CP) status, of which it has granted 424.The Inquiry also confirmed that it was their aim to complete its report on phase 1 of its work by autumn 2018. A more detailed timetable of the Inquiry's work would be published in January 2018, with a further procedural hearing at the end of January. Transcripts and videos of each hearing are available on the Inquiry's website at https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk/

Cabinet Office: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) evidential basis and (b) method of calculation was for his Department's Common Technology Services team establishing the figure of 40 per cent savings from disaggregating large IT contracts; and if he will publish his Department's joint report with McKinsey & Co on that subject.

Caroline Nokes: The figure refers to the estimated annual run cost savings from the delivery of the Cabinet Office Technology Transformation Programme.  The business case supporting this programme estimated 38% savings on the per-user annual run costs for Cabinet Office, compared to the “do minimum” option of retaining the outsourced service provision. The Government draws on a wide range of advice to ensure we deliver the best possible service for users and value for taxpayers. Details of specific contracts awarded are published regularly on Contracts Finder.

Elections: Data Protection

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of the EU General Data Protection Regulation on the roles and responsibilities of Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers; and what steps the Government is taking to communicate the effect of such changes to Returning Officers, Electoral Registration Officers and their staff.

Chris Skidmore: The Electoral Commission has a statutory role to provide guidance to Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers. It is working closely with the Information Commissioner's Office, the Association of Electoral Administrators, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Scottish Assessors Association to develop guidance on the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Bill currently being considered in the House of Lords on the electoral administration responsibilities of Registration Officers and Returning Officers.

Public Sector: Procurement

Mr David Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office,what assessment he has made of the opportunities to increase social value in public procurement following the UK’s departure from the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The current public procurement rules will continue to apply until the UK has left the EU following the successful conclusion of exit negotiations. The longer-term opportunities for our procurement regulations are being considered carefully.

Employment: Autism

Damien Moore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the rate of employment was for people with autism and Asperger's syndrome in each month of (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15, (f) 2015-16 and (g) 2016-17 in (I) Southport and (ii) the UK.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 190.24 KB)

Census

Julie Cooper: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government will include Kashmiri as a nationality on the 2021 Census.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 115.79 KB)

Cabinet Committees

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings of the Reducing Regulation sub-Committee have taken place since June 2016.

Damian Green: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including when and how often they meet, is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion. A full list of the Cabinet Committees and Implementation Task Forces, with their membership and terms of reference, can be found on the Cabinet Office's webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-cabinet-committees-system-and-list-of-cabinet-committees

Cabinet Office: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many data incidents his Department (a) recorded and (b) reported to the Information Commissioner's Office in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

Caroline Nokes: Currently there is no legal obligation on data controllers to report breaches of security which result in loss, release or corruption of personal data, the Information Commissioner believes serious breaches should be brought to the attention of his Office. It is at the discretion of departments to define serious breaches. In 2015-2016 the Cabinet Office had 16 data incidents of which 1 required reporting to the Information Commissioner’s Office.In 2016-2017 the Cabinet Office had 36 data incidents of which 3 required reporting to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Cabinet Office: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times his Department's Senior Information Risk Officer roles been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.

Caroline Nokes: This information is not available. In the event of a SIRO vacancy, a deputy SIRO or appropriate senior individual is appointed to temporarily cover the role.

Death: Weather

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many excess winter deaths there were in England in each year since 1997.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 94.04 KB)

Civil Servants: Sick Leave

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the break down is by (a) Department and (b) grade for the Civil Service sickness absence data for Q1 2017  published on 14 December 2017.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the break down is by (a) Department and (b) grade for the Civil Service sickness absence data for 2016 published on 14 December 2017.

Caroline Nokes: The Civil Service recognises that good workforce health and well-being is fundamental to delivering brilliant public services. We support people so that they can remain at work where possible and to return as soon as they are ready following sickness absence. The Civil Service continues to review how it can proactively manage sickness absence and improve health and wellbeing at work even further, ensuring that it consistently delivers the high level of service that the public demand and expect.Sickness absence in the Civil Service is measured using Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year. AWDL per staff year is the total number of working days lost across the year, divided by the total number of potential staff years.The AWDL per staff year in the Civil Service was 7.0 days for year ending 31 March 2017, its lowest level since 2007. This demonstrates the significant progress that has been made in reducing sickness absence across the Civil Service.Table 1: sets out the AWDL in the Civil Service by department for the year ending 31 March 2016 (Q1 2016) and the year ending 31 March 2017 (Q1 2017).Table 2: sets out the AWDL in the Civil Service by grade for the year ending 31 March 2016 (Q1 2016) and the year ending 31 March 2017 (Q1 2017).  



Table 1 & 2
(PDF Document, 215.8 KB)

Department for International Trade

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations he has received from the Fairtrade Foundation on the effect on the UK's Sustainable Development Goals of the provisions in his Department's Trade Bill, published in November 2017; and what assessment he has made of that effect.

Greg Hands: Holding answer received on 15 December 2017



Ministers and officials at the Department of International Trade (DIT) regularly meet with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Fairtrade Foundation.The UK is a leading voice in support of free trade as a tool for economic development and a proud advocate of helping developing countries trade their way out of poverty. That is why DIT and the Department for International Development (DFID) are working together to ensure development and global prosperity are at the heart of UK trade and investment policy.We have pledged to support the world’s poorest countries access UK markets once we leave the EU, to help fulfil our commitment to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals, both at home and around the world.

Trade Agreements

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many representations he received in response to the consultation on his International Trade White Paper; and what assessment he has made of those responses.

Greg Hands: We received 150 responses providing feedback and evidence in response to specific questions posed in the White Paper and to our general approach to a future UK trade policy. Submissions were received from across business and civil society, including representative organisations and non-government organisations (NGOs).In addition, we received a large number of responses (7429) as part of a Civil Society campaign on transparency and inclusivity.We were pleased to receive these replies and are considering them fully. We will be publishing a response to the Department’s White Paper consultation in due course, with further engagement planned thereafter.

World Trade Organisation

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the barring of civil society groups from this year's WTO summit; and if he will make statement.

Greg Hands: We have been working with international partners to express that the UK Government is committed to a transparent and inclusive approach to trade, and civil society must have the opportunity to engage with and contribute to trade policy. The UK cooperated with the EU on the issuing of a letter on 7th December 2017 to the Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Marcelo Faurie and the Chairwoman of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference, Susana Malcorra. This letter expressed concerns over the actions taken to revoke the accreditation of certain civil society representatives.

Trade Agreements

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2017 to Question 117618, on Iron and Steel: China, what recent discussions he has had with trade unions on (a) trade remedies to be adopted by the UK after leaving the EU and (b) future free trade deals.

Greg Hands: Holding answer received on 18 December 2017



The Department for International Trade (DIT) engages regularly with stakeholders, including trade unions, and welcomes their views on trade remedies and future trade deals. DIT has held meetings on a number of occasion during 2017, including roundtables and bilateral meetings with trade unions, on topics including the future UK trade remedies framework and future trade deals. The Government will continue to engage with and listen to the views of stakeholders when developing the UK's future trade policy.

Department for International Trade: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2017 to Question HL3576, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen families.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade is committed to providing family friendly policies, e.g. maternity leave, parental leave, adoption leave, foster care leave, career breaks and emergency special leave with bereavement and carers leave. In addition, we advocate flexible working to help our staff achieve a good work-life balance, and also offer Childcare Vouchers.We also provide an Employee Assistance Programme that gives access to health and fitness information and legal and financial advice, as well as counselling for staff and their immediate families where required.

Trade Agreements: Nigeria

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to secure future trade deals with Nigeria.

Greg Hands: We are considering in depth our future trading relationships with a broad range of partners as we prepare to leave the EU. An Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and fifteen West African states, including Nigeria, has been concluded but not signed by all parties. We continue to encourage all parties who have not yet signed and ratified to do so.Nigeria currently trades with the UK under the EU generalised scheme of preferences. We will put in place a unilateral trade preference scheme which will, as a minimum, provide the same level of access as the EU scheme.

Department for International Trade: Statutory Instruments

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he plans to seek to establish a sifting committee to consider statutory instruments created under legislation introduced by his Department.

Greg Hands: Holding answer received on 18 December 2017



The organisation of parliamentary Committees is a matter for Parliament.

Department for International Trade: Data Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many times his Department's Senior Information Risk Officer role has been vacant for a week or longer since 2012.

Greg Hands: The post of Senior Information Risk Officer has not been vacant since the Department was formed in 2016.

EU Defence Policy

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what his policy is on engagement by the UK defence industry with the proposed European Defence Industrial Development Programme (a) before and (b) after the UK leaves the EU; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of that programme on his Department's policies.

Mark Garnier: Options for participation in the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) shall form part of the wider EU withdrawal negotiations.

Department for International Trade: Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of his Department's Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions have advised that the requested information was not available on the grounds of disproportionate cost associated with data collection and collation in the current session.

Greg Hands: Since 9 November 2016, the date on which this department became a legal employer, the Department for International Trade (DIT) was unable to provide the information requested in parliamentary questions (PQs) tabled to DIT on the grounds of disproportionate cost on 10 occasions.This represents 1% of the total number of PQs tabled to and answered by DIT since 9 November 2016.

Arms Trade: EU Countries

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the value of UK defence exports based on orders and agreed contracts to each EU member state in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Garnier: Due to commercial sensitivity, the Government does not publish data detailing the value of defence exports by individual country.However, the estimated total of UK defence exports (based on orders/contracts signed) to Europe as a whole from 2007-2016 is £7.3BN (source: DIT DSO).The data is taken from the Department for International Trade’s Defence and Security Organisation (DIT DSO) official statistics which are released annually on the gov.uk website.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Cybercrime

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, following the data breach of one of the accrediting bodies for Cyber Essentials in June 2017, what measures the Government has put in place to avoid this happening again.

Matt Hancock: This was not a breach of any Government data, but a configuration error in the Pervade Software platform used by an external third party, which led to system logs from companies, including assessors of and applicants to the Cyber Essentials scheme, being exposed. There is no evidence to suggest data was extracted. Cyber Essentials is an excellent scheme and an important part of our national response to cyber threats.  The National Cyber Security Centre has ensured the relevant third parties have taken appropriate action in response. The scheme’s Accreditation Bodies are required to take appropriate security measures through contractual obligations relating to the storage of data, including using the latest version of anti-virus software. Following the incident, an independent security audit was conducted on the Pervade software, which resulted in the implementation of a number of minor recommendations. The software is regularly penetration tested.

Schools: Sports

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage children to participate in sport.

Tracey Crouch: We are committed to ensuring that all children and young people, particularly those who are currently least active or from under-represented groups, have the best opportunities to engage in sport and physical activity. Sport England has committed up to £194 million of investment into children and young people over the next four years, which includes the Families Fund: up to £40 million which will be invested in projects that offer new opportunities for families with children to do sport and physical activity together. Through the primary PE and sport premium, the government has invested over £600m of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport since 2013. This funding is provided directly to schools to drive additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of PE and sport they offer. But we know there is more to do, which is why we have doubled funding for the Premium from £160m to £320m a year, using revenue from the soft drinks industry levy. The proceeds of the levy will also provide £100m funding for the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund in 2018-19, which will help pupils to benefit from healthier, more active lifestyles.

Broadband: Universal Service Obligation

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of whether BT Group’s voluntary offer to deliver a universal service obligation in broadband will deliver universal 10mbps coverage across the UK by 2020.

Matt Hancock: The Government’s ambition is to ensure universal access to broadband at minimum speeds of 10Mbps by 2020, so that no home or business is left behind. We are considering the best route to deliver universal broadband, whether to introduce a new regulatory broadband Universal Service Obligation, or whether to accept BT’s voluntary offer. We will make an announcement on our proposed approach shortly.

Sports: Children

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2017 to Question 117380, what estimate he has made of the number of children who will take up organised sport as a result of that funding.

Tracey Crouch: Approximately 21,500 schools are engaged in the School Games programme, which is around 90% of schools in England. As of 30 September 2017 10,127 satellite clubs have been established and 579,246 participants engaged. The Families Fund and the Potentials Fund are new investment streams, and information on their impact will be measured by Sport England during the course of the projects Sport England have also developed the Active Lives: Children and Young People survey (ALC), which will provide a world-leading approach to gathering data on how children engage with sport and physical activity. The survey was launched in schools in September 2017 and results will be available from January 2019.

Gambling

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will commission annual research on the level of gambling-related harm in the UK.

Tracey Crouch: The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB) was set up by the Gambling Commission to advise on priorities for research relating to responsible gambling. GambleAware, an independent charity, leads on commissioning and funding research into gambling-related harm and supporting education and treatment programmes, taking into account the priorities set out by the RGSB. RGSB’s latest research programme includes as a priority work to measure gambling-related harm more effectively. This has been commissioned by GambleAware and is expected to be published in 2018. It is intended to lead to a set of metrics which can be used to measure and monitor the impact of gambling-related harm on a wider scale. Other research published by GambleAware is available on their website at https://about.gambleaware.org/research/research-publications/ . The Department of Health, working with Public Health England, is also considering what scope there is for commissioning further research to better understand the impacts of gambling-related harm on health, and we will work with them. The Gambling Commission tracks the prevalence of problem gambling through its quarterly survey as well as the NHS Health Surveys, which capture information on problem gambling and co-morbidities such as alcohol consumption, smoking and drug use, as well as physical and mental health conditions. The Gambling Commission surveys can be found at:http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/Statistics-and-research/Levels-of-participation-and-problem-gambling/Gambling-participation-and-problem-gambling.aspxThe 2015 NHS Health Survey can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/health-survey-for-england-health-survey-for-england-2015 We continue to take problem gambling and gambling-related harm seriously and will consider carefully any research that adds to our understanding of this issue.

Information Commissioner

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Information Commissioner's Office will continue to be a member of the Article 29 Working Party after the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: The exact role of the ICO in the EU post exit will be a matter for negotiations. On 24 August the Government published a future partnership paper on how to ensure the continued protection and exchange of personal data between the EU and the UK in light of the UK’s withdrawal from, and new partnership with, the EU.

Ofcom: Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether Ofcom will continue to be a member of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications after the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: The UK's negotiations for exiting the EU are complex and the Government is focused on securing the right deal for Britain. Together with the Department for Exiting the European Union, we are analysing all the impacts of leaving the EU, including future involvement in European organisations.

Telecommunications: Regulation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which body or bodies will potentially take over the role in telecommunications regulation that is currently played by the European Commission after the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: We have identified the European Commission’s role under the Communications Act as a deficiency requiring correction under the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. Whether the European Commission’s role will need to be repatriated and which bodies would potentially take over its role will be outlined in the associated Statutory Instruments currently under preparation. Government has engaged in extensive stakeholder engagement on this issue.

Internet

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the Government's policy is on net neutrality.

Matt Hancock: We will continue strongly to support a free and open internet, as the bedrock for a thriving and innovative digital economy. We support a free and open internet. Our net neutrality rules work well to help ensure users, not internet companies, are in control.As such, we are clear that users of internet services should be able to access the services they wish to, without unnecessary blocking or slowing down by providers. The UK is currently subject to net neutrality rules brought in through the EU Open Internet Access Regulation. In order to ensure the immediate continuity of legislation after we exit the EU, over the coming months the Government will be converting EU law into UK law through the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. This means that the net neutrality rules will continue to be in place after we leave the EU.

UK Anti-doping: Reviews

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made of the review of UK Anti-Doping; and when he expects the review to be complete.

Tracey Crouch: The Tailored Review is nearing completion and I expect it to be published in early 2018.

Audio-visual Industry

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on market access for audio-visual services after the UK leaves the EU.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on whether UK broadcasters' licenses will be valid in the EU after the UK has left the EU.

Matt Hancock: We are talking to our EU counterparts as part of ongoing exit negotiations with a view to achieving the deep and special relationship the UK wishes to have with the EU post-exit. The effect of leaving the EU for the audio-visual sector will depend on exit negotiations. We are preparing for a range of possible outcomes from the UK's negotiations with the EU.

Audio-visual Industry: Employment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made on levels of employment in the audio-visual sector of the UK leaving the EU.

Matt Hancock: We have commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy, ahead of our exit from the EU. This commission will provide a clear channel for business and other employers to express their views, and their findings will be used to inform decisions about the post EU exit immigration arrangements. The government will be setting out our initial proposals for a new immigration system in due course.

Audio-visual Industry: Origin Marking

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations she has received from the audio-visual sector on the Country of Origin principle; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: We have been engaging with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy and all regions of the UK to understand their exit priorities. Industry has raised with us the significance of maintaining the ‘Country of Origin’ principle, and the government understands the importance of this principle for the audio-visual sector. We are committed to working closely with the sector to ensure that this issue is fully explored and considered as the UK develops its stance on exit negotiations, as part of the overall effort to secure the best deal for the UK as a whole.

Sports: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the number of accessible sports facilities in the West Midlands.

Tracey Crouch: The Equality Act 2010 requires that ‘reasonable adjustments’ are made by service providers, which include the owners of sports stadia, to make premises accessible for disabled people. It is for individual owners of sports facilities to determine what adjustments are ‘reasonable’ taking into account their own circumstances. Our Sports Strategy sends a clear message to all sports that sports facilities and stadia should provide an inclusive environment that welcomes all users and spectators. Sport England provides guidance to organisations to support them in developing accessible facilities which is publically available: https://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/design-and-cost-guidance/accessible-facilities/

Department of Health

Cancer: Mental Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure talking therapies are provided to help people diagnosed with cancer.

Steve Brine: Many general practice surgeries provide counselling or therapy services on the National Health Service. If counselling or therapy is not available at the surgery, patients may be referred to a local psychological therapies service. NHS England is supporting local implementation of the Recovery Package for cancer patients as part of our £200 million investment to transform cancer services across the country. The aim of the Recovery Package is to help ensure patients have more personal care and support from the point they are diagnosed. For a patient, this means working with their care team to develop a comprehensive plan outlining not only their physical needs, but also other support they may need, such as therapy or counselling services, help at home or financial advice. By 2020, the Government want all patients in England to have access to the Recovery Package.

Orkambi

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when will Orkambi be made available for the treatment of cystic fibrosis on the NHS.

Steve Brine: In July 2016, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the independent body that develops guidance on drugs and treatments for clinical and cost effectiveness for the National Health Service in England, was unable to recommend Orkambi as a cost effective use of NHS resources. NICE concluded that, although clinically significant for managing cystic fibrosis, the longer term outcomes and benefits were not sufficient to justify its considerable costs. Orkambi is not therefore routinely available to NHS patients with cystic fibrosis. Since then there has been a constructive dialogue underway between the company, NHS England and NICE, including discussion hosted through NICE’s confidential ‘Office for Market Access’, although NICE is yet to receive any fresh proposals from Vertex, the company that manufactures Orkambi. Both NHS England and NICE have been consistent in advice to Vertex, that progress can only be made by working through NICE’s appraisal processes and the existing commercial framework. Any funding decisions in the absence of positive NICE technology appraisal guidance should be made by NHS commissioners based on an assessment of the available evidence and on the basis of an individual patient’s clinical circumstances.

Self-harm: Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to prevent self-harm among teenagers.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We updated the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy for England earlier this year. This included expanding its scope to address self-harm as an issue in its own right. We are investing £247 million to implement mental health liaison teams in acute hospitals by 2020/21, with 50% meeting the core 24 standard to provide services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Mental health liaison teams will be well placed to support people who present at emergency departments for self-harm. We are investing £400 million to implement improved crisis resolution and home treatment teams in the community and we are committed to implementing a community-based pathway of care for self-harm by 2019. The Department funds the Multi-Centre Study of Self-Harm in England which collects and monitors data on people who present at emergency departments across three centres in Derby, Manchester and Oxford to provide analysis of self-harming trends which informs policy development. We are ensuring that every local area has a suicide prevention plan in place by the end of the year and we will be working with local authorities to support them in quality assuring their plans. We expect local authorities to reflect the national key areas for action in the Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy, including on self-harm, within their plans. This means local multi-agency groups working across all local services, including the voluntary sector, to tailor specific suicide and self-harm interventions to support high risk groups in their communities. We are looking at the impact of the internet and social media on the mental wellbeing of young people. The Department of Health works with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to improve safety online and especially for young people through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published a national Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper this year which seeks to address a wide range of potential harms online, including suicidal and self-harm content. We work with a wide range of stakeholders including the Samaritans to explore issues such as the responsible reporting of suicide and self-harm in the media and are working with online and social media providers to improve the way that online users can report harmful content or to signpost people who may search for suicide or self-harm content. The Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy also highlights that action should be taken to tailor approaches to the specific mental health needs of some groups such as children and young people. Earlier this month we published the joint health and education Children and Young People’s Mental Health Green Paper, ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’, which sets out ambitious proposals for prevention and early intervention and improving access to children and young people’s mental health services. We are also rolling out Mental Health First Aid training to secondary schools by 2019 and expanding this to primary schools to equip teachers to spot the signs of mental health problems earlier and to support their pupils and signpost or refer them to specialist mental health services where appropriate.

Pregnancy: Sodium Valproate

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children have been diagnosed with fetal anti-convulsant syndrome as a result of their mothers taking sodium valproate during pregnancy in each of the last three years.

Steve Brine: The information requested is not collected centrally. The actual number of children diagnosed with fetal anti-convulsant syndrome in the United Kingdom is very difficult to estimate from medical records. It is important to note that fetal anti-convulsant syndrome is a nondrug specific condition that relates to abnormalities in children exposed to any anticonvulsant during pregnancy, not just valproate. Because of its risks, valproate should only be used to treat women of childbearing age if other drugs are ineffective or not tolerated. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is currently working with European regulators and with experts and healthcare bodies to decide what further action should be taken to ensure valproate should only be used to treat women of childbearing age if other drugs are ineffective or not tolerated. This review is expected to complete early next year.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have received a diagnosis of lupus in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: This information is not collected.

Carers

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which Ministers of his Department attended events to mark Carers Rights Day on Friday 24 November 2017.

Jackie Doyle-Price: I attended the Carers Rights Day reception on Thursday 23 November 2017 at the House of Commons to mark the event.

Carers

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provisions are in place for NHS staff based at (a) Quarry House in Leeds and (b) Richmond House in London to have time off for duties as carers; and how many staff were given time off in each month in 2017 to date.

Steve Brine: NHS England’s Leave and Employment Break Policy and Procedure provides for carers’ leave under the provision of Special (unplanned) Leave. NHS England has staff based at Quarry House in Leeds, Skipton House in London and numerous regional offices across England. There are no staff based at Richmond House in London. No data is available for staff based in London and regional offices. Since January 2017 the number of NHS England staff whose main base is Quarry House in Leeds, that have requested special leave provision reclassified as carers leaves is less than five per month for each month of the year apart from October where it was five and July and December when there were zero requests.

General Practitioners: Training

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to provide incentives to medical students to enter general practice.

Steve Brine: Health Education England (HEE) has implemented a range of improvements to increase the number of general practitioner (GP) training places to 3,250 each year. In 2017 3,157 new starters were recruited to training posts – this is the highest number of GP trainees ever.NHS England, HEE, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners have been working together to increase the number of medical students choosing to enter specialty GP training.NHS England is funding a £20,000 salary supplement (Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme) to attract GP trainees to work in areas of the country where GP training places have been unfilled for a number of years. In 2018 up to 200 places will be offered.The scheme is open to GP trainees committed to working for three years in areas identified by the GP National Recruitment Office as having the hardest to recruit to training places in England. GP training directors identified those areas which had the lowest fill rates consistently over the last four years.

Health Visitors

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has commissioned research into potential changes in the effectiveness of health visitors and health visiting since the relocation of those services into his Department's responsibility.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Since 1 October 2015 local authorities have had responsibility for the commissioning of public health services for children aged zero to five (including health visitor services). The Department commissioned Public Health England to undertake two reviews focused on the transfer of health visiting services to local authority control: a review of the mandated elements of service, and a programme benefits realisation review. The Review of mandated services demonstrated widespread support to continue mandating the provision of health visitor reviews to families, to ensure that all families are given support at critical times and those families needing more help are identified and early interventions put in place. The report on the review of mandation for the universal health visiting service can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-health-visiting-service-mandation-review The Benefits Realisation Review demonstrated statistically significant improvements in access, parent reported experience, a number of child health outcomes and a contribution to addressing inequalities. This report was sent directly to local authorities; a copy is attached.



PHE report
(PDF Document, 3.66 MB)

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department's proposals on page 4 of its Green Paper on children and young people's mental health, published on 4 December 2017, which government Department will have responsibility for allocating funds in relation to proposed Mental Health Support Teams and Designated Senior Lead for Mental Health in schools.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department will have responsibility for allocating funds related to the Mental Health Support Teams and the Department for Education will have responsibility for allocating funds related to the Designated Senior Lead for Mental Health in schools.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department's proposals on page 4 of its Green Paper on children and young people's mental health, published on 4 December 2017, whether the four week waiting time target for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services will relate to the time taken for (a) referral to assessment or (b) referral to treatment.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The proposal of trialling a four week waiting time, as set out within Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: a Green Paper, will relate to the time taken from referral to beginning treatment.

Pupils: Allergies

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with devolved authorities about Department of Health guidance on the use of adrenaline auto-injectors in schools.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department set up a guidance development group in July 2017 to develop guidance for schools in England on adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) in anticipation of the introduction of the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017. The guidance is non-statutory and aims to capture the good practice which schools in England should observe in using spare AAIs. Schools may wish to use this as the basis of any protocol or policy. The guidance development group included representatives of the devolved administrations. The guidance was intended for use in England, but can be used by the devolved administrations if they wish, or to help inform their own guidance. The Scottish Government will be publishing its own guidance for schools shortly.

Diabetes: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the £600,000 of funding from the Diabetes Transformation Fund was transferred to Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland sustainability and transformation partnership.

Steve Brine: NHS England confirms that Diabetes Transformation funding of £815,000 has been awarded to the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Sustainability Transformation Partnership area, as announced on 20 April. The 1st quarter’s payment was made on 30 June, the 2nd quarter’s payment was made on 29 September and the 3rd quarter’s payment will be made on 29 December.

Diabetes: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of funding provided by the Diabetes Transformation Fund on health outcomes in Leicester.

Steve Brine: The Sustainability and Transformation Partnership was successful in obtaining diabetes transformation funding to make improvements in respect of three treatment targets, structured education, and inpatient care, specifically:- Improving achievement of the treatment targets (HbA1c, blood pressure and cholesterol) and reducing variation between clinical commissioning groups and between general practitioner practices, with the aim of resulting in improvements in glycaemic control and psychosocial wellbeing;- Increasing uptake of diabetes structured education with the aim of a reduced risk of diabetes-related complications; and- Increasing availability of diabetes inpatient specialist nurses with the aim of reducing lengths of stay for inpatients with diabetes. We would expect local commissioners to assess the impact of these improvements in the coming years.

Diabetes: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps health authorities in Leicestershire have been able to take as a result of the Diabetes Transformation Fund.

Steve Brine: A number of actions are underway across the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership area. These include: - Employment of additional Diabetes Inpatient Specialist Nurses (DISN) by University Hospitals of Leicester National Health Service Trust, enabling the Trust to provide a seven day DISN service;- Support from Effective Diabetes Education Now to support and train health care professionals offering diabetes care to patients; and- Recruitment of additional nurses to support practices with poorer diabetes outcomes for patients.

Diabetes: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many amputations were carried out in Leicestershire as a result of type 2 diabetes in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Steve Brine: NHS Digital were able to provide the following data that details the count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and a main procedure of amputation for the three clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) within Leicestershire over the past three financial years. CCG of Treatment2014-152015-162016-1703WNHS East Leicestershire And Rutland CCG00*04CNHS Leicester City CCG26222404VNHS West Leicestershire CCG00*Leicestershire Total262230 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Digital Activity in English National Health Service Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.To protect patient confidentiality, figures between one and five have been replaced with an asterisk. Where it was still possible to identify figures from the total, additional figures have been replaced with an asterisk.

Health Education: Vegetables

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Department for Health has issued guidance to people about increasing their vegetable intake.

Steve Brine: The Government recommends eating at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day as part of a healthy balanced diet. This is reflected through a variety of communications including the Eatwell Guide - Public Health England’s catering guidance, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthier-and-more-sustainable-catering-a-toolkit-for-serving-food-to-adults The Government’s 5 A Day campaign through the Change4Life campaign and the NHS Choices website.

Ophthalmic Services

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to implement a national strategy for ocular health.

Steve Brine: There are no plans to develop a national strategy for eye health. Given the size of England, and the diversity of the health needs of different communities, we believe commissioning needs to be owned and managed locally. However, the Department supports Vision UK, an umbrella organisation for the eye health and sight loss sector, which aims to improve eye health and end sight loss, improve support across eye health and social care services and improve awareness of sight loss.

Social Services: Northern Ireland

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the future sustainability of the social care sector in Northern Ireland when providers and those in receipt of personal budgets have to fund historical liabilities for sleep-in shifts.

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the sustainability of the social care sector in Northern Ireland when providers and those in receipt of personal budgets have to fund historical liabilities for sleep-in shifts.

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received about the sustainability of the social care sector in Northern Ireland when providers and those in receipt of personal budgets have to fund historical liabilities for sleep-in shifts.

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the sustainability of the social care sector in Northern Ireland when providers and those in receipt of personal budgets have to fund historical liabilities for sleep-in shifts.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is in discussions with the devolved administration as they work with social care sector representatives to better understand the impact of these liabilities in Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State receives representations on many issues, including regarding social care, but we have not identified any representations specifically relating to this issue. The Secretary of State has an ongoing dialogue with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on many issues.

Cystic Fibrosis

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the implementation of the recommendations from the Accelerated Access Review on people with cystic fibrosis; and what the timetable is for the implementation of those recommendations.

Steve Brine: The Government and partners published the response to the Accelerated Access Review on 3 November which outlines plans for implementation. Since the Accelerated Access Collaborative has not yet selected any products, we have not made any assessment of the effect of implementation on any particular condition. The Accelerated Access Pathway will be operational from April 2018 when it will begin selecting products.

Folic Acid

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2017 to Question 8626, when the Government plans to respond to the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s updated evidence on folic acid.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2017 to Question 8626, what estimate the Government has made of the cost of implementing mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2017 to Question 8626, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Scottish and Welsh Governments on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid in the UK.

Steve Brine: Ministers will set out their position on mandatory fortification in due course. The Secretary of State has received a joint letter from the Scottish Government’s Minister for Public Health and Sport and the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services, sent on 1 December 2017, concerning mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid, and a response will be issued in the New Year.No estimate has been made of the cost of implementing mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

Rapid Diagnostic and Assessment Centres

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Rapid Diagnostic and Assessment Centres are available to NHS patients in England; and how many have (a) opened and (b) are planned to open, since the publication of NHS England's Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View in March 2017.

Steve Brine: Nine rapid assessment and diagnostic centres have been established through the “Accelerate, Co-ordinate, Evaluate Wave 2” partnership between NHS England, Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support. A further three centres have been trialled in London over this year as part of work initiated through the National Diagnostics Capacity Fund. NHS England is also funding rapid diagnostic centres and models in Cancer Alliances through its transformation funding over this and the next financial year.

Medical Equipment

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Linear Accelerators are available to NHS patients in England, and how many have been introduced since the publication of NHS England's Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View in March 2017

Steve Brine: The NHS England radiotherapy modernisation fund was launched in October 2016 and committed £130 million of investment to replace and upgrade linear accelerators (LINACs) aged 10 years or more. During 2016/17 the fund enabled 18 new machines to be purchased and 12 to be upgraded in 23 National Health Service trusts. Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View, published in March 2017, set out a commitment to replace over 50 new radiotherapy machines in at least 34 hospitals during 2017/18 and 2018/19. This equates to around 25 new LINACs in each financial year and NHS England is on track to achieve this. In 2016, NHS England completed a stocktake of radiotherapy equipment in England. At that time it was confirmed that there were in the region of 263 radiotherapy machines in full operational use.

Health Services: Cancer

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the NHS England document, Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View published in March 2017, what recent progress the NHS has made on meeting the objective for an extra 5,000 people to survive cancer over the next two years.

Steve Brine: Earlier and faster diagnosis is key to improving survival rates and NHS England is investing over £200 million over the next two years in cancer services to encourage local areas to find new and innovative ways to diagnose cancer earlier, improve the care for those living with cancer and ensure each cancer patient gets the right care for them. The Government has also committed £130 million for new technology and equipment to ensure patients have access to the best and latest radiotherapy treatment. Survival rates from cancer in England are at a record high, and since 2010 rates of survival from cancer have increased year-on-year. The decrease in cancer deaths means that around 7,000 people are alive today who would not have been had things stayed the same. One year survival rates for the period 2017-19 will be available in 2021.

Mental Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the NHS England document, Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View published in March 2017, what recent progress the NHS has made on meeting the objective for an additional 60,000 people to access (a) psychological and (b) talking therapies for common mental health conditions during 2017-18.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Progress against the targets for mental health services improvement, set out within the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, are tracked on the Mental Health Five Year Forward View Dashboard which is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/mental-health-five-year-forward-view-dashboard/ This shows that the National Health Service is on track to meet the targets for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT). The latest ‘Psychological Therapies, Annual report on the use of IAPT services - England, 2016/17’, which was published on 30 November, can be found at the following link: http://www.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB30157 This shows that in 2016/17, 965,379 people entered treatment, resulting in an annualised access rate of 15.79%, exceeding the 15% target. Monthly data published by NHS Digital, up to and including August 2017, show that for 2017/18, 415,437 people have so far entered treatment. Complete data for 2017/18 will not be available until early 2018/19.

Mental Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average travel distance is for (a) adults and (b) children needing inpatient mental health services in England in (i) March 2017 and (ii) the most recent month for which data is available.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Information about the average travel distance for adults and children needing inpatient mental health services in England is not routinely collected by NHS England.

Mental Health Services: Pregnancy

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many specialist mental health Mother and Baby Units were available to patients in England in (a) March 2017 and (b) October 2017.

Jackie Doyle-Price: There were 15 specialist mental health Mother and Baby Units in both March 2017 and October 2017. It is expected that a further four units will open during 2018/19.

Mental Health Services: Hospital Beds

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many specialist mental health beds were available to patients in England in (a) March 2017 and (b) October 2017.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Information on the number of specialist mental health beds in England is not available in the time frames specified. As at April 2017, there were: 1,449 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service beds covering 120 perinatal (Mother and Baby Units) beds, 779 adult high secure beds and 406 adult eating disorder beds. In addition, based on 2015/16 contracts, there were 6,536 adult low and medium secure beds.

Mental Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Core 24 mental health teams were available to patients in England in (a) March 2017 and (b) October 2017; and in which NHS hospitals those teams were based.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The latest available information, to be published in the 3rd national survey of liaison psychiatry, conducted in June 2016 by Health Education England showed that 17 acute hospitals were meeting the core 24 service level. This information, showing which hospitals are meeting the standard, will be published in due course. NHS England has since awarded funding to 74 more hospital sites to reach the core 24 level by 2019, subject to recruitment of staff.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the NHS England document Next steps on the five year forward View published in March 2017, how many (a) NHS Trusts and (b) Care Commissioning Groups met the objective for over 90 per cent of emergency patients to be treated, admitted or transferred within 4 hours in (a) and (b) before September 2017.

Mr Philip Dunne: In September 2017, 86 out of 172 National Health Service trusts met the objective to treat, admit or discharge 90% of patients within four hours, while one NHS trust did not submit data for this period. The available data are not broken down by clinical commissioning group. In August 2017, 98 out of 173 NHS trusts treated, admitted or transferred over 90% of patients within four hours. Accident and emergency statistics are published monthly and can be found online at the following address: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

Acute Beds

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many acute hospital beds have become available as a result of the the additional funding allocated to adult social care in the March 2017 Budget.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS England publishes monthly data on the number of National Health Service beds occupied by patients experiencing a delayed transfer of care. The latest monthly data for September 2017 shows that there are 615 more acute beds available compared to March 2017. This data is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/delayed-transfers-of-care/

Continuing Care

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of assessments for continuing health care funding took place outside of a hospital setting in (a) March 2017 and (b) October 2017.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Information on the location of NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments was introduced to the mandatory quarterly data set on 1 April 2017. Data is collected and published quarterly with no shorter time period information. In Quarter 1 of 2017/18 (April – June 2017) the total number of Decision Support Tools completed for the Standard NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment route was 15,005. Of these, 4,000 (27%) were completed in an acute hospital setting. In Quarter 2 of 2017/18 (July – September 2017) the total number of Decision Support Tools completed for the Standard NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment route was 15,889. Of these, 3,765 (24%) were completed in an acute hospital setting.

Abortion: Childbirth

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequate provision of (a) support and (b) counselling for healthcare professionals involved in late-term abortions who witness babies being born alive; and if he will make a statement.

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many babies were born alive after an unsuccessful abortion procedure in each year since 2006 for which figures are available; how many of those babies survived beyond infancy in those years; and if he will make a statement.

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training NHS nurses receive about the physical and emotional consequences of late-term abortions: and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: In line with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ (RCOG) clinical guidelines, feticide should be performed before medical abortion after 21 weeks and six days of gestation to ensure that there is no risk of a live birth. As set out in the RCOG guideline on Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality, live birth following termination of pregnancy before 21 weeks and six days of gestation is very uncommon. The guideline can be viewed at: https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/terminationpregnancyreport18may2010.pdf However, women and their partners should be counselled about this unlikely possibility and staff should be trained to deal with this eventuality. Where the fetal abnormality is not compatible with survival, termination of pregnancy after 21 weeks and six days of gestation without prior feticide may be preferred by some women. In such cases, the delivery management should be discussed and planned with the parents and all health professionals involved and a written care plan agreed before the termination takes place. All employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. It is for abortion providers to ensure that appropriate training, support and, if needed, counselling is available for all staff performing late term abortion. Information on the number of live births following termination of pregnancy is not collected centrally.

Abortion

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report from the Care Quality Commission on an inspection of Birmingham Women's NHS Foundation Trust, published in November 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that Registered Medical Practitioners signing HSA1 abortion forms have (a) first seen the woman they are treating and (b) complete the HSA1 form accurately; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Birmingham Women's and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has taken action to address the concerns raised about completion of HSA1 certificates in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection report. The Trust has advised the CQC that education sessions covering appropriate completion of the HSA1 certificate are delivered to all clinicians and junior doctors involved in the service, and that these sessions are delivered at induction and on an on-going basis. In addition, HSA1 certificates are audited quarterly to ensure that there is 100% compliance with the Abortion Regulations 1991. The Regulations can be viewed at:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1991/499/contents/madeThe Department issued guidance to all Registered Medical Practitioners in July 2013 outlining their responsibilities under the Abortion Act 1967, in relation to completing the HSA1 form. The guidance is available to be viewed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226928/2013_C_Guidance_note_for_completing_the_HSA1_and_HSA2_abortion_forms.pdf

Department of Health: Families

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2017 to Question HL3576, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen families.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department undertakes and supports a range of programmes and initiatives which seek to strengthen families. For example, the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme was introduced to England a decade ago as a key part of government early years policy. The FNP is a programme of intensive home visiting by specially trained nurses which aims to support young mothers expecting their first child to improve outcomes. The Friends and Family Test (FFT) is a feedback tool used to improve services for patients. Since its launch in 2013, the FFT has been rolled out in phases to most National Health Service-funded services in England, giving all patients the opportunity to leave feedback on their care and treatment. The FFT has produced well over 30 million pieces of feedback so far – and the total rises by over a million a month – making it the biggest source of patient opinion in the world. We want better support for families with children and young people who are at risk of developing mental health problems. A Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health published on 4 December 2017 seeks to build on the progress already made. This ranges from setting up the first ever waiting times for mental health to supporting the recommendations of the 2015 Future in Mind strategy, through investing £1.4 billion to bring together all services working with children and young people to improve mental health services. All of NHS England’s work programmes have input from family/carer experts by experience and true collaborative partnership working with stakeholders where families are strongly represented. The Transforming Care Programme recognises that when children and young people have a learning disability, autism or both and behaviours that challenge and/or a mental health condition, the impact on the family as a whole can be significant. One of the key principles of our Transforming Care Service Model is that families are provided with the right support to help children and young people live in the community. In March 2017, NHS England introduced a Care, Education, and treatment review policy for children reflecting the vital role the parents and extended family play in the lives of people including children and young people with learning disabilities, autism or both. In September, NHS England published guidance to supplement the service model which was specific to children and young people “with learning disabilities, autism or both”. This guidance – focused at commissioners, details the support and services they should be commissioning to ensure that children and families are supported from point of identification, through to short break provision, and specialist provision for children and young people with the most complex needs. Public Health England encourages healthy living amongst families with young children through its Start4Life social marketing campaign. This is aimed at parents-to-be and parents of children up to the age of five. The Start4Life website has a range of advice and resources which can help mothers continue breastfeeding and leaflets and resources are available which professionals can order for free.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that people attending A&E are seen within an hour of their arriving.

Mr Philip Dunne: The National Health Service waiting times standard in England is that 95% of patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of their arrival at accident and emergency (A&E) departments. The Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2017/18 sets out that performance in England should meet this standard within 2018. We already set more challenging targets compared to other countries, including Sweden (whose target is to achieve 80% of patients within four hours), New Zealand (six hours), and Canada (up to eight hours if the patient is being admitted). The Government remains committed to maintaining the four-hour standard as a top priority, and there are no plans to change it. On average, in 2016/17 patients left A&E just two hours and 49 minutes after arriving.

NHS: Per Capita Costs

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2017 to Question 117247, on NHS: Per Capita Costs, what per capita expenditure on the NHS was at 2010 prices in each region of England in each of the last seven years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information requested is not held.

Suicide: Mental Health Services

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to provide support and guidance to patients who have attempted suicide who do not have a network of friends or family after they have been discharged from a mental health unit.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We expect mental health providers to work with commissioners and local authorities to ensure there are robust plans in place to support a patient following discharge from hospital as part of the patient’s care plan. Where a patient has been detained under sections 3, 37, 45A, 47 or 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983, the Act requires clinical commissioning groups and local authorities, in co-operation with other agencies, to provide or arrange for the provision of after-care to patients discharged from hospital. The Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice sets out these requirements. Mental health providers are also required to ensure timely follow-up with mental health patients who have been discharged from hospital within seven days. We are ensuring that every local area has a multi-agency suicide prevention plan in place to ensure all local services including the National Health Service and local authorities, and voluntary and charitable organisations, are working together to implement tailored approaches to reducing suicides in their communities. This includes action to target and reach out to high risk groups such as people who have been in contact with mental health services.

Department of Health: Regulation

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many regulations were introduced by the Department for Health in calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many regulations were repealed by the Department for Health in calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne: We do not keep a central record of all regulations introduced or repealed by the Department and to obtain that information would incur a disproportionate cost.

Prescription Drugs

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which prescription drugs increased proportionately the most in cost to the public purse in each of the last 10 years for which data is available.

Steve Brine: The information requested is presented in the table below. Prescription medicines have only been included where there was prescribing in both 2006 and 2016. The medicines have been ranked on the highest average annual increase from 2006 to 2016 and the top five drugs are shown at presentation level. Where the Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) is shown to be £0.00, this is in fact rounded and the true figure is between £0.00 and £0.01 which is calculated by dividing the NIC by quantity. Top five medicines with the largest average annual percentage increase, 2006-16, for NIC per quantityDrug nameNIC 2006NIC 2016Average annual percentage change, 2006 - 16Hydrogen Peroxide Ear Drops 1.5%£0.02£33.28111.1Potassium Permanganate Solution 0.1%£0.00£1.11102.5Proflavine Solution 0.1%£0.00£0.4280.1Sodium Chloride Solution 0.9%£0.00£0.3673.6Bismuth Subgallate Suppository 300mg£0.14£32.9772.9Source: Prescription Cost Analysis

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate the Government has made of how many more people will access mental health treatment between 2017 and 2020.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government has committed to increasing access to psychological therapies by 2020/21, so that at least 25% of people (or 1.5 million) with common mental health conditions access services each year. The table below, published in Implementing the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, sets out the percentage increase and total number of people that are expected to access psychological therapies from 2016/17 until 2020/21.   Objective2016/172017/182018/192019/202020/21Percentage of people with common mental health conditions accessing psychological therapies each year.15.8%16.8%19%22%25%Total number of people accessing treatment0.96 million1.02 million1.16 million1.37 million1.5 million Source: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/fyfv-mh.pdf

EURATOM

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department taking to ensure the future of medical supplies that are linked to the UK's membership of Euratom.

Steve Brine: The Government is fully aware of the importance of medical radioisotopes and the reliance on nuclear medicine for diagnostic procedures in the National Health Service. The United Kingdom’s ability to import medical isotopes from Europe and the rest of the world will not be affected by withdrawal from Euratom. It is in the interest of both the UK and the European Union to avoid disruption in the timely access of treatment to patients; and to ensure that cross-border trade with the EU is as frictionless as possible. This will be part of the broader negotiations of the UK’s future relations with the EU.

Surgery

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost to the NHS was of a (a) hip replacement, (b) knee replacement, (c) cataract operation and (d) hernia operation in England in each of the last three years.

Mr Philip Dunne: Data for the estimated average unit cost to NHS providers in 2014-15 to 2016-17 for a hip replacement, knee replacement, cataract operation and hernia operation is shown in the table below. The data is sourced from reference costs, which are the average unit cost to the National Health Service of providing defined services to NHS patients in England in a given financial year.  Average unit cost per one finished consultant episode 2014-152015-162016-17Hip replacement£6,793£7,090£7,032Knee replacement£5,944£6,253£6,181Cataract operation£747£805£811Hernia operation£2,193£2,331£2,308 The costs cover one episode of care under one consultant and do not include other elements of the patient pathway such as outpatient appointments

Social Services: Dementia

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the effect of recent changes in the social care budget on people with dementia.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Earlier in 2017, the Government announced an additional £2 billion of funding for local authorities to help reduce short-term pressures and improve the stability of the social care system. The Government has also committed to publishing a Green Paper, by summer 2018, setting out proposals for reform of adult social care, which will include social care for people with dementia. This Green Paper will focus on care for older people, addressing the challenges of our ageing population, bringing forward proposals for consultation to build widespread support.

NHS Trusts: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) NHS trusts and (b) NHS foundation trusts that will be in deficit at the end of the 2017-18 financial year; and whether he expects the NHS trust sector as a whole to be in deficit at the end of that year.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Improvement publishes quarterly reports regarding the financial position of National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts. The latest figures on current and forecast deficits can be found in the NHS Improvement Quarter 2 performance report via the following link:https://improvement.nhs.uk/uploads/documents/Performance_of_the_NHS_Provider_sector_month_ended_30_Sept_Final_17_Nov.pdf

General Practitioners

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs there were in England per 100,000 population in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The requested information is shown in the table below.  YearAll general practitioners (excluding locums) headcount per 100,000 population, England201770.1201673.3201574.2201475.7201374.7

Blood: Donors

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many units of blood were collected by NHS Blood and Transplant England in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on advertising to encourage people to donate blood in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The table below sets out the number of units of blood collected by NHS Blood and Transplant in each of the last 12 months. Month - YearWhole Blood CollectionsDecember-2016133,532January-2017135,974February-2017121,463March-2017139,373April-2017122,844May-2017135,769June-2017135,615July-2017123,527August-2017126,362September-2017122,295October-2017130,586November-2017129,858Source: NHS Blood and Transplant The table below sets out the total marketing spend on raising blood donation awareness during 2010/11 and 2011/12.  2010/112011/12Total spend11,292,65710,858,466Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

Health Professions: Training

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many students entered training to become a (a) nurse, (b) midwife and (c) GP in England in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The table below indicates the number of students who entered training in the last five academic years to become a nurse or midwife: Course2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17Nursing17,11517,56819,14719,95120,888Midwifery2,5802,5402,5352,5802,602 Source:Information prior to 2013 was sourced using the Departmental Financial Information Management System. Data collected after 2013 is sourced using the Health Education England Education Commissioning reports. The table below indicates the number of students who entered training in the last five calendar years to become a general practitioner: Course201220132014201520162017GP2,6932,7672,6712,7693,0193,157 Source:Health Education England

Kettering Hospital

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, where in the NHS approvals process Kettering General Hospital's bid for an urgent care hub has reached; and what the next stages are in that process.

Mr Philip Dunne: We understand that the Trust submitted a draft Outline Business Case (OBC) to its board in November 2017. The final OBC will go to the Trust Board on Friday 22 December for sign off, after which time the OBC will be submitted to NHS Improvement for assessment. This will consider value for money, affordability, and whether it is able to proceed with a procurement.

Health Insurance: Japan

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what examination his Department has made of the system of long-term care insurance in Japan; and what conclusions have been reached as a result of that examination.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what models of long-term care used in other countries his Department has examined; and what conclusions he has drawn from that examination.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The ageing population presents one of our nation’s most profound challenges, raising critical questions as to how as a society we enable all adults to live well into later life and how we deliver sustainable public services that support them to do so. An ageing society means that we need to reach a longer-term sustainable settlement for social care. This is why the Government is committing to publishing a Green Paper by summer 2018 setting out its proposals for reform. An Inter-Ministerial Group, chaired by the First Secretary of State, is overseeing this work. This Government wants to take the time to consult and build consensus a long-term, sustainable settlement for the future, which includes looking at the quality of care being delivered, the funding of the system and how it will be paid for in the round. This will include looking to experiences in other countries to inform our proposals. Whilst international comparisons of different funding systems are being actively explored in preparation for the Green Paper, there are significant circumstantial differences which make it difficult to directly compare the British and Japanese systems.

Colorectal Cancer: Health Education

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to raise awareness of bowel cancer since 2015.

Steve Brine: The Be Clear on Cancer Abdominal Symptoms pilot campaign aims to raise awareness of a range of abdominal symptoms that can indicate a number of cancers, including bowel, and encourages people to visit their doctor promptly. The pilot ran from 9 February until 31 March 2017 in the East and West Midlands and Public Health England (PHE) is working with NHS England on timings and location for any future activity. In addition, PHE worked in partnership with Cancer Research UK to deliver a pilot Be Clear on Cancer campaign in the North West of England to promote uptake of bowel screening. The campaign ran from 2 January to 19 March 2017 and is currently being evaluated to assess its impact on uptake.

Cystic Fibrosis: Health Education

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis since 2015.

Steve Brine: Information about cystic fibrosis (CF) for both healthcare professionals and the general public is readily available on the NHS Choices and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) websites. Diagnosis of CF is primarily made during new-born screening (the median age at diagnosis is two months) and NICE published a new best practice guideline for clinicians on the condition in October 2017. NICE has also provided new content on CF for the public, which includes contact information for organisations that can provide additional information and support, such as the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Both the NHS Choices and NICE guidance can be found at the following links: www.nhs.uk/conditions/cystic-fibrosis/ www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng78

South Tyneside Hospital

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support acute services at South Tyneside District Hospital.

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will review the Path to Excellence proposals made by South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Partnership.

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the responses to the Path to Excellence proposals made by South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Partnership.

Mr Philip Dunne: Any possible reconfiguration of acute services is a matter for the local National Health Service. It is right that these decisions are led by local clinicians, who best understand the healthcare needs of their local populations, and in consultation with local people. ‘The Path to Excellence’ is a five-year transformation of healthcare service across South Tyneside and Sunderland and has been set up to secure the future of local NHS services and to identify new and innovative ways of delivering high quality, joined up, sustainable care that will benefit the local population, both now and in the future. A consultation to gather public views about the different ways some aspects of NHS hospital services could be arranged in South Tyneside and Sunderland was launched in July 2017 and ended in October 2017. This has focused particularly on choices around areas of hospital care which are delivered at South Tyneside District Hospital and Sunderland Royal Hospital. No decisions will be made on reconfiguration matters until the responses to ‘The Path to Excellence’ have been thoroughly analysed. Final decisions are expected to be made by South Tyneside and Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Groups in 2018.

Arthritis: Medical Treatments

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of patients receiving treatment for arthritis in (a) South Tees NHS Trust, (b) the North East and (c) England.

Steve Brine: No specific estimate has been made. The majority of patients receiving treatment for rheumatoid arthritis are managed in outpatient settings where data collection is not mandated.

General Practitioners

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of full-time practising GPs in (a) South Tees NHS Trust, (b) the North East and (c) England for each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Steve Brine: The requested information is shown in the table below. The table shows data for general practitioner (GP) full-time equivalent figures for NHS South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS England North (Cumbria and North East) and England, for each of the years in question. Prior to 2015, the locum headcounts were not recorded.YearAll GPs Full-Time EquivalentAll GPs (Excluding Registrars, Retainers and Locums) Full-Time EquivalentEnglandNHS England North (Cumbria and North East)NHS South Tees CCGEnglandNHS England North (Cumbria and North East)NHS South Tees CCGMarch 201733,9211,67915628,0921,544145September 201634,4951,83715428,4581,724142September 201534,5921,91016529,2291,774150September 2014   32,6282,160180September 2013   32,0752,143189

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that current levels of service quality are maintained for patients seeking mental health treatment between 2017 and 2020.

Jackie Doyle-Price: In October 2017, NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) launched a national mental health patient safety initiative. It will be supported by a national mental health quality improvement programme, led by NHS Improvement and informed by the CQC intelligence as part of a joint strategic objective to ensure a shared view of quality. All mental health providers will be involved in this initiative, which has an emphasis on shared learning and the embedding of sustainable quality improvement approaches as integral to the way mental health services are delivered across the sector. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 all providers of regulated activities, including National Health Service and independent mental health providers, have to register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. If the CQC is not satisfied with the quality of services provided it can take action against the provider, from issuing warning notices to, ultimately, cancelling a provider’s registration.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to support the mental health needs of children and young people in the next 12 months.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Children and young people’s mental health is a top priority for this Government which is why we are making an additional £1.4 billion available from 2015/16 to 2019/20 to transform children and young people’s mental health services. This additional money provides funding for clinical commissioning groups and various national programmes, including improving crisis support, expanding the workforce and tackling stigma. The additional money will also be used to improve access to services, with the indicative trajectory for 2018/19 (as set out in NHS England’s implementation plan for their “Five Year Forward View for Mental Health” being for an additional 49,000 additional children to access mental health treatment, rising to 70,000 by 2020/21. Bed numbers in the existing Mother and Baby units will increase so that overall capacity increased by 49% in 2018/19.Our recent joint Department of Health and Department for Education Green Paper, Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision, will be supported by over £300 million and aims to improve provision of services in schools, bolster links between schools and the National Health Service, and pilot a four week waiting time. The consultation period will end in March 2018 and we will subsequently analyse responses to inform implementation of the proposals.

Nurses

Mr Marcus Fysh: What plans he has to broaden routes into nursing.

Steve Brine: Health Education England published a draft workforce strategy last week, which emphasised clearly the priority we have to increase the nursing workforce and broaden routes into nursing.That is why, in England, we have developed the new nursing associate role and Nursing Degree Apprenticeship to open routes into the registered nursing profession for thousands of people from all backgrounds, and allow employers to grow their own workforce from within their local communities.

Skin Diseases

Jessica Morden: What estimate he has made of the number of patients with Erythropoietic Protoporphyria.

Steve Brine: In 2016/17 there were 54 National Health Service admissions in England with a primary diagnosis of Erythropoietic Protoporphyria. Whilst the numbers of people with a particular rare disease can be very small, 3.5 million people in the United Kingdom have a rare disease. We know, as with the hon. Member’s constituent, that these diseases can have a heart-breaking impact on a person’s health. That‘s why the UK is committed to building on our position as a world-leader in the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases.

Hospitals: Standards

Nigel Huddleston: What recent progress his Department has made on improving the performance of hospitals in special measures.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Special Measures programme has been in place since 2013 with 37 instances of trusts entering. 21 trusts have exited Special Measures since the programme began, including five which have exited since March this year. I particularly congratulate Colchester, which exited in November.Eight former Special Measures trusts are now rated either “Good” or “Outstanding”.

Nurses

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: What plans he has to broaden routes into nursing.

Mr Philip Dunne: Health Education England published a draft workforce strategy last week, which emphasised clearly the priority we have to increase the nursing workforce and broaden routes into nursing.That is why, in England, we have developed the new nursing associate role and Nursing Degree Apprenticeship to open routes into the registered nursing profession for thousands of people from all backgrounds, and allow employers to grow their own workforce from within their local communities.

NHS: Fees and Charges

Rachael Maskell: What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of fines in relation to dental and prescription charges.

Steve Brine: The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) issues penalty charge notices (PCNs) for incorrect claims for exemption from National Health Service dental and prescription charges.To ensure the integrity of the exemption system the NHS BSA has recently increased the number of checks. In 2016/17, 365,181 PCNs for dental charges and 975,065 for prescription charges were issued. This represents an increase of 90.11% and 90.23%, respectively, on 2015/16. There is a clear process for patients to appeal a PCN if they believe it is unjustified.